ARTICLE: Marc Reflects On His Greatest Council Accomplishment

By Marc Lazarow |  Published in The Clark Garwood Patch,  October 17, 2022

Serving as a councilman for the last six years has been the honor of a lifetime.  As I embark on being elected for a third time, I’ve reflected on my tenure thus far, and can honestly take pride in so many things I have been able to accomplish.  I’m generally not much of a self-promoter, but with it being campaign season, it is incumbent that I do so to give residents a clear and concise reason for why I deserve to be elected to three more years on Council.  

I’d like to focus on what I believe was my greatest accomplishment which I actually starting work on as as Councilman-Elect in 2016 and continued into my first year as Councilman when I advocated for pausing any movement on the Vermella negotiations until we hired a financial advisor to help negotiate the PILOT deal that would eventually be signed with the redeveloper.  I felt strongly that we needed to slow down the pace before we leapt into a rushed financial agreement, which would shape this once in a generation revenue-raising opportunity for Garwood.

Being part of my teacher’s union negotiating team, I have direct knowledge and experience about how to get the most bang for our buck when making any kind of deal.  Working with Acacia, the financial firm we selected as our advisor, we were able to negotiate for $100,000 before the completion of the building that was used as tax relief in the following three years.  In addition, we fought for increased profit percentages that would allow us to see increased payments from Vermella as the years progressed in the agreement.  That has allowed us for the first year of the agreement to earn $570,000 and to provide the Garwood Board of Education $150,000 of that money to help fund  the much needed new gym floor, as was requested by the Garwood BOE.  

Collaborating and being a tough negotiator at the same time is a delicate balance that I am proud to utilize in my work as Finance Chair these past four years.  I humbly ask voters to entrust their vote for Council in me as well as Clarissa Nolde.  Along with Jen Blumenstock as your elected Mayor we can continue the important work of making sure we hold developers accountable, bring the best financial deal to Garwood, and welcome our newest residents into our community. 

Sincerely,

Garwood Councilman Marc Lazarow (D)
Running for Reelection