Politics & Government

Kasko Files To Create Three-Way Race in Third Ward

Retired police officer active on Central Avenue stop light issue.

Third ward voters will have three choices for Town Council in the November election as a retired police officer who has been an active opponent of the town government has filed as an independent candidate.

Greg Kasko, who retired from the Police Department following a disciplinary hearing several years ago, will face off against Republican incumbent Mark Ciarrocca and Democratic candidate Matt Sontz for the four-year term. Kasko is the first independent candidate to run in Westfield in several years. He is one of eight independent candidates to file Tuesday for local office across Union County, according to the county clerk's office. Tuesday was the last day to file as an independent candidate in the November election.

Kasko's candidacy has been rumored for several weeks as he has been circulating petitions around the third ward. Ciarrocca and Sontz both entered the race several weeks ago during the filing deadline for candidates to run in the primary election.

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Kasko has been outspoken in recent months advocating for the moving of the pedestrian activated stop light on Central Avenue near the intersection with Clover Street. He has been advocating moving the light from a residential lawn to the intersection 100 feet away. Kasko joined forces with Adina Enclescu, who owns the house where the stop light is located, and Maria Carluccio, Enclescu's neighbor, to oppose the light. Enclescu and Carluccio started opposing the Council's decision to place the light on Enclescu's front yard in September, with Kasko joining their cause several weeks later. Kasko has also been outspoken on issues surrounding traffic and parking in the neighborhood surrounding Westfield High School.

Kasko retired from the police department following disciplinary hearings into alleged misconduct on his part. The retirement was part of a deal between Kasko and the town. Kasko has been publishing a local blog, The Fact of the Matter, where he has commented on various police department issues and issues surrounding the stop light.

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Ciarrocca, an attorney, is seeking his third term representing the third ward on the Council. He was first elected in 2003, defeating Councilman Dave Haas, who had been appointed to succeed former Councilman Kevin Walsh, who resigned to accept a post as a federal prosecutor. Haas later came back in 2005 to claim the other Council seat. Reelected in 2007, Ciarrocca currently serves as the chairman of the finance committee and as the town's acting mayor. He is also a former chairman of the public safety committee.

Sontz, an attorney, was defeated by Ciarrocca in the 2007 election. An active member of the town's Democratic Committee, Sontz is a member of the Union County Construction Board of Appeals.


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