Five people have filed to run for three seats on the Verona Town Council this May: Cynthia Holland, Jason Hyndman, Jack McEvoy, Michael Nochimson and Christopher Tamburro.
Holland is an attorney who has chaired the Sustainable and Resilient Infrastructure Workgroup for the New Jersey Energy Master Plan. A graduate of Seton Hall Law School, Holland moved to Verona nine years ago. She has been an OLL faith formation teacher and part of OLL’s Children’s Liturgy ministry and other family ministries, and has served on Forest Avenue SCA committees and as leader of two Girl Scout troops.
Hyndman is a partner at the law firm of DeCotiis, FitzPatrick, Cole & Giblin. A graduate of Rutgers University and Rutgers Law School, he advises municipalities on redevelopment, land use planning and affordable housing obligations. He is the vice-chair of the Montclair Historic Preservation Commission and serves as alternate #2 on the Verona Planning Board. Hyndman and his family moved to Verona four years ago.
McEvoy is seeking reelection to a second term. He was the top vote-getter in the 2017 election and was chosen to be mayor in 2019. A lifelong Verona resident who attended Our Lady of the Lake School and graduated from Verona High School in 1984, McEvoy is a builder and carpenter by background, and a licensed home inspector. On the Council, McEvoy advocated for pedestrian-friendly streets and several environmental measures, including the 2019 tree protection ordinance, Open Space Trust Fund and 2021 stormwater ordinance to reduce flooding. He has used his construction knowledge to address issues at several town buildings and the Verona Rescue Squad headquarters.
Nochimson*, a 20-year resident of Verona, was elected to the Council in 2011 and was re-elected in 2015, eventually serving as deputy mayor. But on his third Council bid in 2019 he finished fourth in a field of five candidates. A graduate of Muhlenburg College, he has made his career on Wall Street. During his time on the Council, he helped the Council to hire a new town manager, pushed for Verona to acquire a street sweeper and supported increased recreational programming.
Tamburro has taught social studies in Verona High School for 13 years and has been president of Verona’s teachers union, the Verona Education Association, since 2014. He has served on the Verona Rescue Squad since 2010 and was appointed as the township’s deputy emergency management coordinator in 2015. He holds a bachelor’s degree The College of New Jersey (TCNJ), a master’s from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and a doctorate from Drew University.
Voting will be in-person on May 11, with Verona using machines that combine paper ballots and optical scanners. In a ballot line drawing on Friday afternoon, Holland won position 1A, Hyndman is 2A, Tamburro is 3A, McEvoy is 4A and Nochimson is 5A.
Kevin Ryan, who has served three terms on the Council, chose to not run for re-election this year. Ted Giblin is also not seeking re-election.
*Nochimson’s campaign website address was unavailable at publication time.
