TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—Republican Mayor Peter Calamari was sworn into his third consecutive four-year term as mayor, and reelected incumbent Republican councilor Daisy Velez took her oath of office at the Jan. 5 Township Council reorganization meeting.
Retired Appellate Division Judge Harry G. Carroll administered oaths to Calamari and Velez at the meeting. Republican Tom Sears, who also won reelection on Nov. 4, took his oath of office earlier that day.
Council President Michael DeSena, who opposed Calamari for mayor and lost, was voted unanimously to serve as council president for a second one-year term.
In addition, councilor Michael Ullman was voted unanimously to serve as council vice president, replacing Steven Cascio in the role.
DeSena, who hurt his right arm in a car accident last year, recently underwent surgery and could not raise his right hand during the oath of office.
Calamari said he was humbled to be starting a third term as mayor. He thanked Carroll for swearing him in and Father Tom Norton, Our Lady of Good Counsel Church, for his invocation. He said he knew the judge for decades, and had served as an altar server for Father Tom at the local church. The mayor then provided a brief township update.
In his remarks, newly elected council vice president Michael Ullman said people who comment anonymously on social media, “should be taken with a grain of salt.” He said administrator Mark DiCarlo is “extremely responsive” to residents’ complaints and can be accessed via phone and the website. He said DiCarlo would address concerns “where possible and where feasible.” He said residents who have issues with leaves and snow plowing should be better directed to DiCarlo, rather than anonymous posts on social media.
Ullman pointed out that the recent property revaluation had shown one local farm property with an assessed value of $2,300. He asked the council and administration to ensure that the farmland property tax exemption was valid and all farmland regulations were in effect.
Calamari said the property was on the current tax assessor’s radar and would be checked. Ullman did not name the property or its owner publicly.
However, DeSena told us later that Ullman was referring to a 14-acre tract planned for a 66-unit American Dream development, also known as the Viviano tract at 463 Van Emburgh Ave.
As we reported in 2019, the developer, Tomaron Inc., had filed for a farmland assessment property tax reduction and paid $48.77 in taxes on a 14-acre property then assessed at $2,000 under farmland assessment. DeSena said the property owner was recently still seeking permits for stormwater conveyance before any on-site activity was likely to occur. The farm had sold $500 worth of firewood to qualify for farmland assessment, officials told us in 2019.
Velez thanked residents for their support in her reelection. She thanked her running mates, her family, and her daughters for their understanding of her love for community service. She said she looked forward to working with her colleagues.
Sears thanked the residents for supporting his reelection. Regarding the annual town budget, he said he hoped the council could work on the budget “to see how much we can reduce and eliminate to give some relief to the taxpayers,” he said.
Cascio said he looked forward to working together with the council “to get together and make things better for our residents.”
Last year, during several budget hearings, councilmembers Ullman, Cascio, and DeSena were taken to task by the mayor for looking to cut costs and trim budgets that the mayor said included no fat or excess costs.
As candidates in 2023, the Independent election team of DeSena, Ullman and Cascio had campaigned on cutting the municipal budget by 10%, and were generally opposed on many cuts that they tried to make. Before Cascio voted to approve a $3 million bond in February 2025 to construct a DPW facility, Velez and Sears had said they would do their best to help trim the annual budget to control local costs. That promise helped secure Cascio’s vote to approve the DPW bond.
See “Under a tent no more: Council OKs $3M bond on DPW,” by Michael Olohan, Feb. 22. 2025, thepressgroup.net).
At the meeting, the mayor, with consent of council, made 10 appointments, including Township Business Administrator/Director of Administration Mark DiCarlo, Director of Finance John Corcoran and Director of Law/Township Attorney Siobhan Spillane Bailey, and Director Department of Public Works/DPW Supt. Daniel Scudieri.
In addition, the mayor appointed members of the Office of Emergency Management; Planning Board; Library Board; Recycling; Recreation Advisory Board; Special Labor Counsel; Bonding Attorney; Municipal Grantwriter; Health Services; and Accounting Services. The mayor also announced eight Fire Department Officers for 2026.
The 11-page agenda can be found online, providing resolutions and notices of appointments made at the Jan. 5 reorganization meeting. The next regular council meeting is Monday, Jan. 19 at 7 p.m.