New Jersey
NJ-11 County and Local Elected Officials Back Mikie Sherrill for Governor – Insider NJ
Today, more than 100 elected officials at the county and local levels from across New Jersey’s 11th Congressional District announced their endorsement of Mikie Sherrill for Governor of New Jersey. These leaders, from across Essex, Morris, and Passaic Counties, collectively released the following statement in support of Mikie Sherrill:
“For Mikie Sherrill, there’s no challenge too big and no problem too small. That’s why we’re thrilled to support her run for Governor of New Jersey.
“We represent communities across New Jersey’s 11th District, and we’ve had the privilege of working alongside Mikie Sherrill since as early as 2017. We’ve seen firsthand how she’ll never back down from a challenge, and how she’s willing to work with anyone, Democrat or Republican, to get things done for New Jerseyans. In times of crisis, she’s a leader – she makes tough decisions and she delivers.
“After Trump was elected in 2016, New Jersey needed real leadership, and Mikie Sherrill stepped up. In the three election cycles since, Mikie Sherrill has paved the way for strong Democratic leadership focused on results in every corner of the district. She’s helped elect Democratic mayors and council members – even in areas once taken for granted by the Republican Party. She listens to neighbors and community members, takes their concerns to heart, and will never back down when it comes to serving our state.
“Take, for example, the Gateway Tunnel. Mikie ran her first campaign on a vow to build the Gateway Tunnel, and, after years of broken promises, we were skeptical. Yet, she did just that – leading the fight to fund the Gateway Tunnel and secure a federal cost-sharing agreement that will allow us to get the project done without raising state or local taxes on families. And Mikie didn’t stop there – she continues to be a fearless advocate when it comes to holding New Jersey Transit and Amtrak accountable for the ‘summers of hell’ we’ve experienced year after year. She knows what it’s like for parents not to know if they will be able to make it back in time to pick up their children from daycare, or to be able to coach their kids’ soccer team.
“That’s just one of the big issues Mikie has tackled during her time in Congress, but we also know that she cares deeply about making life easier for our residents and cutting through the bureaucratic red tape that frustrates all of us. Mikie and her team are always a phone call or a text away. When our residents come to us needing help, we often tell them to reach out to Mikie and her staff. From ensuring local veterans get all of their health care benefits, to helping our seniors navigate Medicare or Social Security, to making sure the IRS gives you back every dollar you’re owed, Mikie will stop at nothing to ensure that every New Jerseyan who needs help gets it.
“Time and again, we’ve seen Mikie – a lifelong public servant – step up to make life easier for New Jersey families. As Governor, we know she’ll do exactly that, and we’re excited to support her every step of the way.”
Sincerely,
Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr.
Essex County Clerk Christopher J. Durkin
Essex County Sheriff-elect Amir Jones
Essex County Register Juan Rivera, Jr.
Essex County Commissioner President Carlos M. Pomares
Essex County Commissioner Vice President Tyshammie L. Cooper
Essex County Commissioner At-Large Patricia Sebold
Essex County Commissioner At-Large Romaine Graham
Essex County Commissioner At-Large Brendan W. Gill
Essex County Commissioner At-Large Wayne L. Richardson
Essex County Commissioner District 1 Robert Mercado
Essex County Commissioner District 4 Leonard M. Luciano
Passaic County Clerk Danielle Ireland-Imhof
Passaic County Sheriff-elect Thomas Adamo
Passaic County Commissioner Orlando Cruz
Passaic County Commissioner Bruce James
Passaic County Commissioner Pasquale “Pat” Lepore
Passaic County Commissioner-elect Rodney De Vore
Bloomfield Mayor Jenny Mundell
Bloomfield Councilwoman At-Large Monica Tabares
Bloomfield Councilwoman Third Ward Sarah Cruz
Glen Ridge Mayor Deborah Mans
Glen Ridge Councilor Ann Marie Morrow
Glen Ridge Councilor Rich Law
Glen Ridge Councilor Peter A. Hughes
Glen Ridge Councilor LoriJeane Moody
Glen Ridge Councilor David Lefkovitz
Glen Ridge Councilor Rebecca Meyer
Livingston Council Member Shawn Klein
Livingston Council Member Michael Vieira
Livingston Council Member Ketan Bhuptani
Maplewood Mayor Nancy Adams
Maplewood Deputy Mayor Jamaine Cripe
Maplewood Committeeperson Dean Dafis
Maplewood Committeeperson Victor De Luca
Maplewood Committeewoman-elect Malia Herman
Millburn Mayor Annette Romano
Millburn Committeeman Michael Cohen
Montclair Deputy Mayor Susan Shin Andersen
Montclair Third Ward Councilor Rahum Williams
Nutley Commissioner Thomas J. Evans
Roseland Mayor James R. Spango
Roseland Council President Christopher Bardi
Roseland Councilman John Biront
Roseland Councilwoman Eileen Fishman
Roseland Councilman Neal Goldstein
Roseland Councilman Marcelino “Moose” Trillo
Boonton Ward 2 Council Member Jacob Hettrich
Boonton Ward 2 Council Member Marie Devenezia
Chatham Borough Mayor Carolyn Dempsey
Chatham Borough Council President Jocelyn Mathiasen
Chatham Borough Council Member Justin Strickland
Chatham Borough Council Member Karen Koronkiewicz
Chatham Borough Council Member Brian Hargrove
Chatham Borough Council Member Irene Treloar
Chatham Borough Council Member Katherine Hay
Chatham Township Mayor Stacey Ewald
Chatham Township Deputy Mayor Michael Choi
Chatham Township Committeeperson Jen Rowland
Chatham Township Committeeperson Marty McHugh
Dover Mayor Mayor James P. Dodd
Dover First Ward Council Member Claudia P. Toro
Dover First Ward Council Member Sandra Wittner
Dover Second Ward Council Member Geovani Estacio
Dover Third Ward Council Member Michael Scarneo
Dover Third Ward Council Member Karol Ruiz
Dover Fourth Ward Council Member Arturo Santana
Dover Fourth Ward Council Member Marcos Tapia
Lincoln Park Ward III Councilman Patrick Antonetti
Madison Mayor Robert H. Conley
Madison Council President Eric Range
Madison Council Member Rachel Ehrlich
Madison Council Member Robert E. Landrigan
Madison Council Member Tom Haralampoudis
Madison Council Member Melissa Honohan
Madison Council Member John Forte
Mendham Township Deputy Mayor Lauren Spirig
Morris Plains Mayor Jason Karr
Morris Plains Council President Nancy Verga
Morris Plains Councilmember Joan Goddard
Morris Township Mayor Donna J. Guariglia
Morris Township Deputy Mayor Jeffery R. Grayzel
Morris Township Committeeman Mark J. Gyorfy
Morris Township Committeeman William “Bud” Ravitz
Morris Township Committeeman Siva S. Jonnada
Mountain Lakes Mayor Khizar Sheikh
Mountain Lakes Deputy Mayor Lauren Barnett
Mountain Lakes Councilmember Chris Cannon
Mountain Lakes Councilmember Cynthia Korman
Mountain Lakes Councilmember Tom Menard
Mountain Lakes Councilmember Melissa Muilenburg
Parsippany Councilwoman Judy Hernandez
Rockaway Township Ward 4 Councilman Jonathan Sackett
Rockaway Township Ward 5 Councilman Emanuel “Manny” Friedlander
Little Falls Mayor James Damiano
Little Falls Council President Anthony Sgobba
Little Falls Councilman Christopher Vancheri
Little Falls Councilwoman Christine Hablitz
Wayne Ward 5 Councilwoman Francine Ritter
Woodland Park Mayor Tracy Kallert
Woodland Park Council President Vincent DeCesare
Woodland Park Councilwoman Tina Gatti
Woodland Park Councilwoman Christine Tiseo
Woodland Park Councilman Michael Sica
Woodland Park Councilman Adam Chaabane
Woodland Park Councilman Luis Torres
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NJ pastor on trying to bring young people back to religion
Amid a growing number of people leaving religion, Rev. Preston Thompson of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Englewood is trying to bring young people back.
Michael Karas, NorthJersey.com
Last June, the Catholic Archdiocese of Newark launched a review called “We Are His Witnesses,” which aimed to consider potential consolidations or closures of some of its 211 North Jersey parishes.
But amid confusion and pushback from many parishioners, Cardinal Joseph Tobin said Wednesday that the archdiocese will now extend its review to allow for further study and conversations.
In a letter published on the Archdiocese website March 4, Tobin, the archbishop of Newark, noted the challenges remain the same: a steady decline in membership and a shortage of priests projected to grow worse in the coming years. He did not specify how much longer the process would take but said he would have more to announce in June.
The largest of New Jersey’s five Catholic dioceses, the Newark Archdiocese serves approximately 1.3 million people in Bergen, Essex, Hudson and Union counties.
Story continues after gallery.
Some parishioners, Tobin wrote, “came to believe — incorrectly — that the overall goal of We Are His Witnesses is to close churches. That has never been the purpose.
“This work is not driven by downsizing, but by mission: by the call to strengthen parish life so that it can truly form disciples and reach those who are not yet engaged in the life of the Church.”
The program’s aim is not to close churches, but to “strengthen parish life” he added.
He said a follow-up announcement would come on June 12 but reassured parishioners that “there is no need to fear that an immediate and wholesale closure of parishes will be announced.”
‘The Church is not a museum’
Current circumstances demand Church leaders to make difficult decisions, he said. “The challenges we face are real: fewer priests, fewer people in the pews, communities that look very different than they did even a generation ago, and financial strain. Ignoring the changed landscape does not preserve parish life; it weakens it. The Church is not a museum to preserve what it once was,” he wrote.
The initiative kicked off last summer, with meetings at churches around the region to allow parishioners to offer feedback. Many expressed fears about their future of their church, Tobin said.
Parishioners at many of the meetings and in letters to Tobin expressed concerns about the program. As a result, Tobin concluded that “it is clear that the communities of the Archdiocese need more time for honest discernment. We are extending this phase of our work to allow for deeper reflection and broader consultation throughout our local Church.”
“This is not a pause in mission. It is a call to take the mission seriously and to ask ourselves, with renewed honesty, what it means to be a missionary Church today.”
Msgr. Richard Arnhols, pastor emeritus of St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church in Bergenfield and a member of a committee of pastoral leaders helping to guide the review, said that, “Based on the input from the priests and people of the parishes which took place last fall, Cardinal Tobin has approved a period of additional study and reflection before any decisions are made.”
The first step is further conversation among parish priests, which will take place this month, he said.
Gregory Hann, a religious instructor at St. Vincent Academy in Newark, applauded Tobin’s decision. “If we continue to do things the way we have been doing them, we become a stagnant Church and we allow the comforts of our culture and the outside to keep us from moving from the Cross to glory.”
Nicholas Grillo of Bloomfield, a parishioner who attended several listening sessions at Holy Rosary Church in Jersey City, approved of the decision. “Hopefully the pause will give them time to reevaluate this going forward,” he said.
He added that it was a “waste of money” to pay large sums of money to a consultant that “doesn’t understand the intricacies of the Archdiocese of Newark,” he said, referring to the Catholic Leadership Institute, a Pennsylvania group that the archdiocese has engaged.
Instead, Grillo suggested, “they should put together a group of lay parishioners and priests from the diocese who can collaborate on a better path forward.”
THE SCOOP
The Devils began their season-high seven-game homestand with a decisive victory over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. The win was their second consecutive victory after picking up a win in St. Louis earlier in the week.
There’s not a lot of runway left in the season, and stringing together a run of victories is at the top of their minds. New Jersey is 11 points out of the final Wild Card spot, and 13 out of third in the Metropolitan Division. Tuesday will mark the Devils final game before the NHL Trade Deadline, which is on Friday at 3 p.m.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are having a down year, based on where the expectations were set heading into the season. The Leafs have struggled to gain any traction in their season and sit just two points ahead of New Jersey with 64. Toronto is 12 points out of third in the Atlantic Division, and nine points out of a Wild Card spot.
The Leafs have a tendency to give up an abundance of shots to their opponents, ranking first in the league in shots against, per game with 31.8, which bodes will for a Devils team that averages 29.4 shots per game, ranking sixth in the league. Despite their overall struggles, the Leafs do have the league’s fourth-best penalty kill, working at an 83.1 percent efficiency.
New Jersey
Former Lumberton, New Jersey, mayor Gina LaPlaca pleads guilty to 2025 DUI, sentenced to treatment program
A former mayor in Burlington County, New Jersey, pleaded guilty to DUI and child endangerment charges after a 2025 traffic stop, according to prosecutors.
Lumberton Township committee member Gina LaPlaca, 46, was indicted last spring on child abuse charges after county prosecutors said she was observed driving drunk with her young child in the car, while serving as the township mayor.
Police arrested her at her home after reviewing video from a witness showing her swerving out of her lane and nearly hitting a utility pole. Lumberton police discovered her blood alcohol concentration was .30%, over three times the legal limit of .08%.
On Monday, LaPlaca was sentenced to three years in a diversionary program for first-time offenders after pleading guilty to driving under the influence and a fourth-degree child abuse charge. As part of the plea deal, LaPlaca will avoid jail time as long as she abides by the terms of the program.
Under the terms of the Pretrial Intervention or PTI program, she must attend regular Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and comply with any requirements set by the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency.
Judge Craig A. Ambrose also ordered LaPlaca to have an ignition lock device on her car that will prevent it from starting up if the driver has consumed alcohol. She said in court she had already installed one in October 2025, the county prosecutor’s office said.
If LaPlaca violates the terms of the PTI program, she could be prosecuted for the child abuse charge.
LaPlaca completed an intensive treatment program in May 2025 and said in a statement that she is “fully committed to my recovery” and is doing the “daily, intentional work” that comes with it. She apologized to Lumberton residents while acknowledging a private struggle with alcohol addiction that was no longer private.
“The weight of my actions is something I carry deeply,” she said in a statement shared on social media. “What I did was wrong. It was dangerous. It was inexcusable. I drove while intoxicated with my child in the car — a choice that could have caused irreversible harm. That reality is something I will live with, and learn from, for the rest of my life.”
LaPlaca served as mayor through 2025 but remains on the township committee. Terrance Benson was sworn in as mayor of Lumberton this year.
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