Posted on Wed, Aug 27, 2008
GOP introduces new council candidate
By Stephanie Mangold; Editor (News Report)

A new face has joined the Republican team of Theresa Lappé and Joe Bowe in the coming election.Giancarlo D'Orazio, 57, was confirmed as the final team member by the Republican Executive Committee last week. Best known in the township for his business, La Gelato Café, he will be pursuing a seat on council. Bowe is pursuing the other seat on council while Lappé is running for mayor. Current council members Frank Scarpato and Anita LaPierre are not running for reelection.
"I want to be part of a group of people, I want to be a link in a chain so to speak, that will work toward helping the people," said D'Orazio.
Born in Orsogna, Italy, D'Orazio moved to South Philadelphia as a teen, settling in Washington Township 20 years ago. He received a degree in Computer Science from Pierce College. He has worked as a senior program analyst, an IT Director and an Independent consultant. In 2005, D'Orazio opened his business La Gelato Café and currently provides gelato for weddings and events. He currently lives in township with his wife, Renee, and their two daughters.
D'Orazio explains that the committee initially approached him about running and he was immediately interested. Upon meeting his fellow running mates it was obvious that the team would work well together.
"When I met Theresa and Joe it was love at first sight, we get along great," he said.
Jeff Morris, Chairman of the Washington Township Republican Executive Committee was excited with the committee's choice.
"Giancarlo has been a resident for twenty years, knows the issues important to Washington Township residents, and will make an excellent member of Council when elected in November," he said.
Though this is his first time running for office, D'Orazio feels he is familiar with the politics of the township and has a strong handle on what changes he would institute.
"If you can run efficiently with what you have and stop asking for money from the residents that would be fantastic," he said
Together, the candidates are running under the platform of "Clean, Lean and Green," stressing good government, lean spending and more green efforts. Lappé and Bowe have been urging for a reduction in taxes, especially for the township's senior citizens, and for more environmental efforts such as involving the township in the Recycle Bank.
D'Orazio stresses that council must run the township like residents run their homes, and learn to do more with less as opposed to simply raising taxes.
"My personal ultimate goal is to make a contribution to the council members and the town," he said.
While he acknowledges that residents are ready for a change, D'Orazio is aiming much higher than just the township. He says he wants to create a blueprint for good government that can be used all the way up to the state level.
"I would like to work for an administration that works for each and every citizen," said D'Orazio. "I want to bring to the township and to the office the same values that I share with my family that are integrity, pride, honesty and loyalty."
He credits the current administration for their work and says he is ready to "finish the job."
"There's no lip service, this is the true me, this is what you get. Everything I did in my life I did with pride and integrity and I did it with 100 percent," he said. "I want to be the next council person."

WT GOP Hopefuls Vie for Nomination
Gloucester County Times
April 13, 2008
By: Jessica Beym

Experience, youth and innovation.

That's what the Republican candidates vying for their party's nomination to compete for the mayoral and two council seats believe they can offer the residents of Washington Township.

Theresa Lappe, a longtime resident of Washington Township and a former councilwoman, is running on the Republican ticket for the mayoral seat. Her running mates include Joseph Bowe, a retired township police officer, and Nicodemo Fiorentino, a 2006 graduate of Rowan University.

There is no contested primary for the Republicans. However, for the Democrats there are three mayoral challengers and five candidates vying for two nominations to run for open council seats.

As the challengers of a currently all-Democrat council and Democrat Mayor Paul Moriarty, who announced he won't be seeking re-election the Republican candidates acknowledge they have their work cut out for them.

"You've got to have checks and balances," said Bowe. "Sure, money rules, but what we're gonna do is go out on our credentials. If we all work together, then we'll have a good philosophy with the taxpayers."

Bowe said he was approached by the local Republican party to run for an open seat on council.

After 26 years as a patrolman, he said he has met a lot of people in town and knows a lot about their concerns.

"I just want to get the government back to the businesses and the people. They are the backbone. They are the ones you are representing, and we need them they need us."

Bowe said he was still an officer when Lappe was serving on the Washington Township council.

Lappe said she is running on the idea of "reinventing government" through public-private partnerships and bringing entrepreneur ideas to town.

"We've got to get away from the tax and spend model and go to the invest and earn model," Lappe said. "Municipalities are like corporations, and the shareholders are no longer able to absorb the taxes."

Lappe said she would like to generate a profit for the residents of the township and improve municipal services without increasing taxes. One suggestion is to bring the Recycle Bank program, in which residents are rewarded with coupons for local businesses, depending on how much materials they recycle, to town.

She said she would also like to consolidate municipal elections to save taxpayers money.

"Another big, huge expense in government is elections," Lappe said. "We have the school election, the fire election, and I'd like to get the municipal election out of the general election."

While such a change can't be made by a local mayor, Lappe said "it has to start somewhere. You have to lobby for it."
Fiorentino, who at 23 has no experience in any elected office, said he has a "vested interest" in the township and wants to give his fellow residents a voice.

"Right now, I see a growing concern with the way our administration is being run and also with the leadership that we have," Fiorentino said. "New ideas need to be brought in to ensure that the community continues to grow."

Fiorentino said he is opposed to the council's current rule on limiting residents public comments during council meetings to five minutes.

"I think the residents should be able to speak for however long they want," Fiorentino said.

He also believes that the council member should make the monthly bill lists more visible to the residents during council meetings.

"I think the residents have been completely left out of this whole decision-making process in government, and it's time people have more of a say of how their governments going to run," Fiorentino said.

Bowe believes there should be more scrutiny over the municipal budget. He pointed to the council's efforts to sell liquor licenses near the end of last year's budget season to bring in additional revenue.

"I'd have to take each department and look at their expenditures and see if we can adequately represent the residents, and maybe we can tighten the belt a little," Bowe said. "We don't want to see taxes go up, but sometimes you can't help that, because of people's salaries, or the health plan."

Lappe said that while the Republicans almost always have less funding to support their campaign, they plan to take a grassroots approach by knocking on doors and getting their word out.

"We're not deterred by the fact that we're the underdog and it's going to be hard for us to get funding," Lappe said. "We've got experience for Joe, we've got youth for Nic, and he will energize the younger voters, and for me you have innovation. I'm an innovator. We are the best team for Washington Township."

Washington Twp. Candidates Seek Office
Courier Post
March 26, 2008
By: Meg Huelsman

The race has started for candidates vying for mayor and two open council seats, with Democratic and Republican slates announcing their bids Tuesday.

On the Democratic side, mayoral candidate Josh Aronovitch, an attorney, and council candidates Trish Pisauro, a homemaker and mother of three, and Debbie Cherella, a stay-at-home mom and president of the Thomas Jefferson Elementary School Parent Teacher Organization, make up the Aronovitch for Mayor ticket.

On the Republican side, Theresa Lappe, clerk and business administrator in Tavistock, will head the ticket as a mayoral candidate. Running for council will be Joseph Bowe, a retired township police offmicer, and Nicodemo Fiorentino, a recent Rowan University graduate and marketing sales associate in Swedesboro.

The filing deadline is April 7 for the June primary. The three open positions are all four-year terms.

Mayor Paul Moriarty, a Democrat who has held the post since 2004, has not decided whether he will run for re-election. Moriarty is also an assemblyman in the 4th Legislative District.

First-term Councilman Frank Scarpato III and freshman Councilwoman Anita LaPierre, both Democrats, have said they are interested in running for re-election, but have not turned in their petitions.

Aronovitch, of the Turnersville section, announced his run for mayor in mid-December on a platform he calls "CHANGE."

"We're running to lower taxes, and to present a choice to the taxpayers of Washington Township," said Aronovitch, 30, who works for Pepper Hamilton and founded Democracy for Gloucester County. "We need to include people in the process of government, no closed doors. We need to work with the people of Washington Township to figure out priorities and end the culture of pay to play."

Pisauro helped collect signatures for a successful petition drafted by Aronovitch to enact a stricter ban on pay-to-play, a term given to the political practice of giving contracts to firms in exchange for campaign contributions.

"I'm a policy person and I really believe in looking at the bottom line, analyzing every contract to make sure it's efficient," said Pisauro, 38, who worked for former Philadelphia Mayor Ed Rendell's administration.

Cherella said Tuesday she believes she can make a positive change in township politics, which she described as "negative."

"I'm running for council so the regular people have a voice in this township, the regular moms and dads and the people who stand on the sidelines at football and soccer games," Cherella, 40, said. "There are so many things I love about this township, and I think people are really ready for a change."

For the Republicans, Lappe has said she will run for mayor with a mission to bring "an entrepreneurial spirt" to the township.
"I want to look at how public/private partnerships can accomplish things for the township," said Lappe, 58, who ran against Moriarty in 2004. "The people are ready and they want a change. I think we can bring harmony, consensus and good government to council."

Bowe, 63, said he wants to see council stand up for the residents.

"When I was a police officer, I always served the community, and I had to represent them," said Bowe, who retired 12 years ago. "I think council needs to represent the best interest of the people who live here, and I want to be the voice of the residents."

Fiorentino, 23, said he believes his youth, insight and "fresh set of eyes" can make a difference on the council.
"I feel someone needs to take charge and lead in the community," he said. "We need a new face in the political landscape."

Washington Twp. Republicans Field Candidates for Mayor and Council
South Jersey News Online
March 25, 2008

WASHINGTON TWP. -- The Washington Township Republican Party has endorsed its slate for this year's local election.

Mayoral candidate Theresa Lappe is a longtime resident of Washington Township and former township councilwoman.  The two candidates for council are Joseph Bowe, who is a retired Washington Township police officer and a former candidate for freeholder, and Nicodemo Fiorentino, a recent Rowan University graduate.

Lappe said she hopes to provide the residents with an "efficient, effective, people's government." 

Bowe said that having served as a police officer for 26 years led him to run for office.  "I took an oath to protect the residents of Washington Township, and I feel that with the present council, the residents' best interests are not being protected nor adequately represented," Bowe said.

Fiorentino said he looks forward to serving the residents and feels they "have a right to voice their opinions and this administration has made considerable efforts to silence the people of Washington Township."

The Democrats have not announced their slate. Up for re-election this year are Mayor Paul Moriarty and councilmen Frank Scarpato and Anita LaPierre.