Four-Man Race for Livingston Township Council

Four new political faces will compete for two spots on the Livingston Township Council this fall.

On Tuesday, Alfred M. Anthony and Michael M. Silverman officially became the Democratic candidates, while Charles L. Granata and Ray Leibman became the Republican candidates.  Each team of candidates ran opposed in their party's primary.

The candidates are looking to fill the seats of Mayor Stephen Santola and Councilman Gary Schneiderman, both of whom decided not to seek re-election after several years of service.

Anthony, an attorney, is running for political office for his first time. He's served on the township planning board for three years as well as a board member for Livingston Little League. Anthony also volunteers for the Livingston Citizens Budget Advisory Committee, the Green Team, the Environmental Commission and the Livingston Citizens Institute and has previously volunteered on the Open Space Committee.

Anthony said he's running for political office because he wants to "try to keep services up (and running) and keep this a great town and keep taxes low."

Silverman, another first-time political candidate, was raised in the township. He owns a personal and commercial insurance agency which handles property, casualty and life and health insurance.

Silverman volunteers for the township zoning board of adjustment and he is a past president of Temple Beth Shalom, as well as a former coach for the Livingston Soccer Club.

Silverman is the vice president for the North Jersey Business Council, a member of United Jewish Communities and a member of the Essex County Bar Association's Division V Ethics Committee.

Silverman said he's running for office because he wants to continue improving Livingston's great community. Silverman added that he's looking forward "to getting out and meeting everyone and having an opportunity to find out really what the people of Livingston are looking for because, if elected, I'm representing the people of Livingston."

Granata is a 27-year veteran of the Livingston police force and a member of the Livingston School Board. He is also a writer and radio producer.

In a press release, Granata said his work as police officer and school official would bring a broad perspective if he were elected to the township council.

"I believe my work on the board of education, where we were able to work together on important issues and projects – and bring them in on time and under budget - gives me experience and a unique perspective on the community that I think will be valuable to the town council,” he said.

He formerly served as the department’s DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) officer and was the officer assigned to the Mt. Arlington Elementary School “Adopt-A-Cop” program.

Granata's biography said he was a founding member of the township's Youth Appreciation Week Committee and the Healthy Community/Healthy Youth Committee.

Leibman is a professor and lecturer at Rutgers University in New Brunswick and Newark and a former business executive. He ran for the Livingston School Board last year.

He is the former director of the Commercial and Residential Products Division of Panasonic Corp. in Secaucus, according to his campaign biography.

In addition, he is a member of the township's Vision 2020 Committee, the Healthy Community/Healthy Youth Committee, Livingston Old Guard and the local chapter of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

Leibman said in a press release he is seeking a seat on the council because “I feel that I must get more involved in how this town is governed. Many residents and I are unhappy with the decisions the town council has been making over the past decade and we want to implement changes that will make the township government more responsible to the people."

Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 6. and the Township Council positions are for a four-year term. 

The yearly salary range for a council member is $3,000 to $5,643.