John McCormac, “The Star of Woodbridge”, Earning Support for his Re-Election

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By Vijaylakshmi Nadar & Adam Rizvi

 TIO, Woodbridge, NJ, October 30, 2019, A very diverse community of Woodbridge, New Jersey, will decide on November 5, 2019, whether they want to bring back John McCormack as their mayor for the third time. And from all indications, it does seem that there is no serious threat to his mayorship, from what the mayor calls “very negative opponents”.

Mayor John McCormac is an American Democratic Party politician, who is serving as the Mayor of Woodbridge Township, New Jersey, since November 2006. He had announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination for Mayor of Woodbridge in the 2007 election, by opposing Mayor Frank Pelzman in the Democratic primary. Following Pelzman’s unexpected death in July 2006, a special election was called for November 2006, to fill a 14-month term as mayor. The Woodbridge Democratic Party nominated McCormac as their candidate in the special election, who then took office as mayor on November 13, 2006. McCormac also happens to be a member of the Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition.

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In a campaign question-answer session, held by his supporters recently at a well renowned Pakistani Restaurant, “Shahi Palace”, famous for its Mughalai cuisine and steak, McCormack spoke of how there are plenty of opportunities to get involved in the community. “We have a very diverse board of council and board of education. The first African American, first Hispanic, and first American Indian on board, both on the town council and board of education, besides all minorities represented on all our boards”.

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Recognizing that education is a priority with those assembled in the room, he mentioned how “everybody here talked about school because most value education and have expressed their desire to make it the best education system, for which there are two ways to do it. The first is to provide the best infrastructure where we come in and then provide the best education, where the board comes. We have covered both fronts”, he said. Dr Mohammed Zubair , Pulmonologist and a known activist , when asked his views for John McCormac, he said, ” quote, ” Adam, community can not think of loosing Mayor John McCormac he is a wonderful human being, you just heard his views as a an MD I know how important education is , literacy is a most important tool parents are looking for the development of their children, its the main component ina child’s education and John is for all that, I am thrilled to hear his views on education, and economic growth for the city, he is a bridge between communities and doesn’t care what ethnicity you come from. I strongly support him he is an asset “.

When questioned by the editor of TIO, Adam Rizvi,  about how if he were given a million dollars, for the development of his town, how would he spend it, this is what he had to say.

“13 years and I have never been asked this question”, he said much to the delight of his audience. “I think the schools have enough, so I would probably do something for the special needs population. This town is good and taking up this issue would be particularly good for us, he said on a more serious note.

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“I would also do something on the lines of the soup kitchens and the food pantries. I am saddened that 600 families of this town, which make up 2% of our families, depend on the food pantries for their sustenance, which is a little too hard. I will try to pick up these less fortunate people. I would definitely like to help those who need the most”, he continued.

To go deeper on the statement made by Mayor McCormac we contacted the expert Ms. Anita Sharma, founder/director AttachAvi autism foundation (non-profit),  and shine Avi learning center (a program for academic and language   development for children on the autism spectrum ) herself  a mother of two young adults diagnosed with Autism and one is totally declassified and is doing computer engineering said, “I am very much aware of great things that honorable Mayor McCormac has done for special needs community in Woodbridge and his statement that “if he gets a million dollars he would like to spend some for special needs services “ touches my heart so much being an advocate for these children . There have to be more programs to bridge the gap between knowledge and action for autism families. I would love to join hands and help Mayor McCormac and the city for the development of this very noble cause”.We must bridge the gap between knowledge and action by making support groups mandatory in every school district.

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One of the recent controversies that surrounded him was the acquisition of the Club at Woodbridge last year, which was dismissed by critics as a “ Mayor John McCormac’s seemingly endless craving for fun and games, at taxpayer expense” and “each and every member of the town council has completely ignored their fiduciary duties to their constituents by passing an ordinance authorizing McCormac’s acquisition of the Club, inclusive of its real property, fitness, child daycare, and medical rehabilitation operations, absent of any due diligence!” The Mayor, however, dodged the criticism effectively by stating that the cost and upkeep of the club would be from the user fees and not from taxpayer money.

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The mayor also won hearts by raising money for the three families impacted by the plane crash, in the Colonia section of Woodbridge, last week. Each of these families received $11,700 USD

Mayor McCormac, born and raised in Woodbridge, attended St. Cecelia’s grammar school in Iselin and graduated from St. Thomas Aquinas High School in 1976. He earned a BA in Accounting from Rutgers University and a master’s degree in Finance from St. John’s University.

He is very active with the Indian Pakistani community and is seen participating mostly in all functions and parades South Asian consider him a good friend. He has embraced diversity as a strength, uptil now he has proven and shown that he can handle pretty much anything.

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Additional Reporting & Copy Editing By Adam Rizvi. Images Courtesy Viru Patel