HELP US PUT UPPER SADDLE RIVER FIRST
Vote Steve DiMartino and DeAnne DeFuccio (Canavan) for Council
MEET YOUR CANDIDATES
Steve DiMartino
Steven DiMartino is currently seeking his fourth term on the Upper Saddle River Borough Council. Steve is a Certified Public Accountant, a member of the AICPA and Chief Financial Officer of an investment firm with over 30 years of experience in the financial industry. He brings his expertise to the Borough’s Finance Committee, where he is an invaluable part of the effort to keep taxes in check.

Upper Saddle River boasts the 7th lowest municipal tax rate in the 70 towns that comprise Bergen County. He also serves as the Mayor’s Representative on the Upper Saddle River Library’s Board of Trustees and as a member of the USR Fields Committee.

Steve's long-time knowledge of the community, financial expertise and experience on the council make him a strong asset to the residents of Upper Saddle River. His years of experience on the council make him indispensable.

As an 18 years resident of Upper Saddle River, Steve has also served the community as treasurer of the USR Baseball Association, the USR Educational Foundation and a long time youth sports coach.
DeAnne DeFuccio (Canavan)
DeAnne C. DeFuccio, also known as DeAnne Canavan, was chosen to fill Councilman Roger DeBerardine's seat when he stepped down for health reasons in February of 2020. DeAnne brings her legal experience to the Council as she is a practicing matrimonial attorney with over 20 years of experience - and she is a member of the Bergen County Bar Association and New Jersey State Bar Association. She has both lectured and published articles in her area of expertise. She served as the judicial clerk to Hon. Edward V. Torack, J.S.C. (Ret.) after law school, and has also served as a Public Defender.

DeAnne had been serving as an Alternate on the USR Joint Planning and Zoning Board of Adjustment and, upon being sworn into the Council, became the Class III member, moving into DeBerardine's former position. She was also appointed as a member of the USR Youth Guidance Council and the USRA Coalition. She is also excited to be working with USR Cares on the upcoming USR’s Got Talent fundraiser, scheduled for October 10, 2020. DeAnne brings a unique perspective to the Council as a lawyer, experienced member of the USR Planning Board, mother of school-aged children and a long-time USR resident.
WHAT WE'RE ABOUT...
Dear Neighbors,

We are excited to announce our re-election campaign as Borough of Upper Saddle River Council members. We consider it an honor and a privilege to serve as council members and are always available to answer questions or hear concerns as your representatives.

Feel free to contact us at dimart@optonline.net or deanned73@yahoo.com. 
Steve DiMartino
Steve and his wife, Maria, have been active and involved in the community since moving to Upper Saddle River more than 18 years ago. Prior to being elected to the Borough Council in 2011, Steve served as treasurer of the USR Educational Foundation and the USR Baseball Association. He also greatly enjoyed coaching youth sports in Upper Saddle River for 12 years.

Maria is a member of the Woman’s Club of USR, past president of the USR Educational Foundation, past president of the Junior Woman’s Club of USR and past president of HASA (Home and School Association of Northern Highlands). Their three sons, Nicholas (23), Thomas (21) and Robert (19) have all attended Upper Saddle River’s fabulous schools.
DeAnne DeFuccio (Canavan)
DeAnne grew up in Franklin Lakes, the daughter of Charles M. DeFuccio, also a matrimonial attorney. She learned at an early age the importance of contributing to her community, as one of her grandfathers was the former Hudson County State Senator William F. Kelly (1958-73) and her other grandfather, Dr. Charles P. DeFuccio, was a former Jersey City Board of Education member after whom PS #39 is named. Her father served on the Franklin Lakes Board of Education.  

DeAnne and her husband, Kevin Canavan, are grateful to have lived in Upper Saddle River for over 16 years and are the parents of Catherine, entering 4th grade, and Joseph, entering 7th grade. Both of their children have attended the award-winning Upper Saddle River Schools since Kindergarten. DeAnne has been involved at the school level, serving as Co-Chair of the PTO Book Fair for several years and as a Class Parent for the past seven.
Our community, like many others in NJ, has faced many challenges, including flooding, hurricanes, power outages and the Coronavirus pandemic. We are proud to say we came together and saw positive outcomes.
 
We have also faced court-mandated development and encroachment from Rockland County. While some have suggested we should simply oppose all affordable housing or ignore religious protections, the council knew it was necessary to confront these issues responsibly and keep residents informed. As residents can now see, with settlements that neighboring towns have made, and decisions that the courts have handed down, Upper Saddle River benefitted from the tough decisions that were made by the council and planning board. These successful outcomes required strategy, experience and commitment. Steve and DeAnne understand the larger picture, the legal challenges we face, and will not waiver in their determination to always achieve the very best for all our residents. 
 
Along those lines, working with our Borough staff and professionals, as well as our community and service organizations, we have persevered and succeeded.
 
Some highlights:
1. Delivered Fiscal Responsibility
USR boasts the 7th lowest municipal tax rate in Bergen County, of 70 towns. The Mayor and Council only control the municipal portion of your taxes. The schools comprise 70% of your taxes and we have no control over that portion. We’ve kept the tax increases to an average of 1.5%. Our municipal property tax has grown by an average of just 1.5% annually over the past ten years – well below the statewide average. We are extremely proud of the quality of services we provide while keeping our taxes so low. Steve, as a member of the Finance Committee, is an integral part of this success. 
2. Protected Quality of Life
After developers pushed for projects that could have brought literally thousands of new apartments, town homes and “affordable” units, we fought back and limited new development to just 44 single-family homes on USR’s half of the golf course and just 208 townhomes on One Lake Street, with only 22 affordable units among them. Moreover, we minimized the land area covered by the eruv from 640 acres (557 homes) to 253 acres (253 homes), a 60% decrease. We have successfully fought Rockland County encroachment for over a decade and will continue to do so. Steve has been involved in all of these battles and is committed to keeping our town a great place to live. DeAnne, with experience on the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Adjustment, brings invaluable expertise to these types of issues. 
3. Invested In Our Town
We obtained over $1 million in grants for the mitigation of the Saddle River and much needed bridge and road work, including $500,000 to replace the Lake Rd bridge. We also received $1.6 million open space grant for the purchase of 9 acres on One Lake Street (the largest award given in the 2018 cycle), preserved the corner of Lake St and West Saddle River Road, and constructed the community signboard to highlight community events and volunteers. We continue to seek grant monies for open space opportunities as well as road repaving.
4. Addressed Mental Health and Substance Abuse
We secured the Drug Free Community Mentoring Grant provided Upper Saddle River, as well as the newly formed USRA Coalition, with much needed funds to further educate our communities about the opioid epidemic for the next several years. USR was one of only three towns in the United States to be awarded this grant in 2017 at $75,000 annually for two years. After successfully fulfilling our mentorship requirements, we were awarded the Drug Free Community grant in 2019, $125,000 annually for five years.
These funds have made it possible to address substance and alcohol abuse, vaping and vital mental health support. Councilwoman DeFuccio, a member of the Youth Guidance Council, is also a board member of the USRA Coalition. 

Steve and DeAnne would be honored to have your support in the General Election on Tuesday, November 3.  
WHAT RESIDENTS ARE SAYING...
IMPORTANT: All voting will be done by mail
How to Cast Your Vote
Due to coronavirus, all NJ registered voters should receive ballots in the mail for the Nov. 3 general election and can submit their votes by mail, a secure drop box, or bring the completed ballot to their polling place on November 3rd.

Ballots will be mailed end of September/early October.

There will be no sample ballots.

Do not discard your ballot in error. 
Ballot Drop Boxes can be found outside in the following locations:

Bergenfield - 198 North Washington Avenue, Bergenfield, NJ (Borough Hall in Rear)

Demarest - 118 Serpentine Road, Demarest, NJ (Borough Hall)

Englewood - 2-10 North Van Brunt Street, Englewood, NJ (City Hall)

Fair Lawn - 8-01 Fair Lawn Avenue, Fair Lawn, NJ (behind Borough Hall)

Fort Lee - 1355 Inwood Terrace/Anderson Avenue Circular Driveway (Fort Lee Community Center)

Hackensack - One Bergen County Plaza, Hackensack, NJ (County Administration Building)

Hasbrouck Heights - 320 Boulevard, Hasbrouck Heights, NJ (behind Borough Hall)

Hillsdale - 380 Hillsdale Avenue, Hillsdale, NJ (Borough Hall parking lot)

North Arlington - 214 Ridge Rd, North Arlington, NJ (Borough Hall)

Oakland - One Municipal Plaza, Oakland, NJ (Borough Hall, across from Library)

Old Tappan - 227 Old Tappan Rd, Old Tappan, NJ (Borough Hall)

Paramus - 1 Jockish Square, Paramus NJ (Borough Hall, outside main entrance)

Ramsey - 30 Wyckoff Avenue, Ramsey, NJ (behind Library)

Ridgewood - 131 North Maple Ave, Ridgewood, NJ (Village Hall)

Ridgefield - 725 Slocum Avenue, Ridgefield, NJ (Ridgefield Community Center)

Rutherford - 176 Park Avenue, Rutherford, NJ (Borough Hall)

Teaneck - 818 Teaneck Rd, Teaneck, NJ (Municipal Building, North Entrance)

Wyckoff - 340 Franklin Avenue, Wyckoff, NJ (Municipal Building)

Ballot Drop Boxes are available 24-hours. Ballots must be in the Drop Box by 8PM on election night. Ballots left after 8PM on election night will be considered late and not counted.

Instead of using the mail in ballot, voters can show up to a polling place on Tuesday, November 3rd and vote on a provisional ballot, the paper ballot used to record a vote if there is a question about eligibility. No matter where you normally vote, in USR there will be one polling location for everyone- Cavallini Middle School - no other polling location will be open this year.  

Voters who wish to drop off their ballot at Cavallini Middle School can hand their own ballot - no one else’s - to a poll worker on November 3rd from 6 am - 8 pm. 

Only the disabled will be allowed to vote inside a polling machine this year. 

If you are not registered to vote, you can register by October 13th. Here is the link to the registration form.

Call Borough Clerk Joy Convertini at (201) 934-3963 if you have questions regarding voting.
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