By Alexis Tarrazi / Senior Reporter

NORTH ARLINGTON — Councilmen Salvatore DiBlasi and Albert Granell are seeking to maintain Democrat control on the borough council with their run for their second three-year term. Republican newcomers Chris Johnson and Jon Kearney are looking to unseat the incumbents.

Responses were edited for design purposes.

All of the interviews were conducted before The Leader’s publication of the “Dirty Diner Deal” on Oct. 22.

SALVATORE DIBLASI, 62, is the co-owner of Cobra Construction located at 70 Porete Ave. in North Arlington. DiBlasi was elected to council in 2006, and his seeking his second three-year term. DiBlasi is currently the borough’s liaison to the Zoning Board of Adjustment, Senior Citizens, The Free Public Library and Veteran’s Affairs. DiBlasi is also a member of the Administrative & Executive committee with Mayor Peter Massa as well as a member of the following standing committees: Department of Public Works and Buildings & Grounds.

ALBERT GRANELL, 47, is an information technology specialist for United Parcel Service (UPS), where he has worked with various software and hardware vendors to enhance the performance capabilities of the overnight delivery giant. Elected to council in 2006, Granell is seeking his second three-year term. Granell serves as council president and liaison to Redevelopment and Recreation. He is also responsible for having the borough’s council meetings and municipal events available for viewing on Comcast Cable.

CHRIS JOHNSON, 34, a Republican, was born and raised in North Arlington and still lives in the same home on Bogle Avenue that he grew up in. He received a degree in government  from the University of Virgina in 1997 and a law degree from Syracuse University in 2000. After law school, Johnson clerked for Marguerite T. Simon, PJSC in the Bergen County Superior Court.

JON KEARNEY, 46, a Republican, is a graduate of Seton Hall University and Seton Hall University School of Law, Kearney is a lifelong resident of North Arlington. He resides with his wife, Yunetsi Fuentes, daughter Tiffanie and son Craig. He is a lawyer.

What is the largest problem in NA?

DiBlasi: I don’t see no problems. The biggest thing right now is to see how we can develop the Meadowlands. That would be our next big venture. Our first venture was to get rid of EnCap, which I think we did a great job doing that. Our next venture, I’ve been hearing it from a lot of people. Richard Hughes touched on it in his little stupid comment in The Leader. I can say that, ok I will behave. But I hate him. But I think the next biggest adventure we have is to get development in there. We are working to hire a professional developer. It’s not a problem, I would call it the next big venture.

Granell: I think the biggest problem for the town, with Sal and myself, we have to look at maximizing the most of the Meadowlands parcel. What does that mean for North Arlington? Right now almost 90 percent of the tax ratables in the borough come from homeowners. That’s our number one challenge. How do we alleviate the tax situation from the homeowner and balance it off? We are looking at the Meadowlands parcel, unlike Lyndhurst and Rutherford, which are now under NJMC jurisdiction in the Meadowlands. We, North Arlington, control our destiny in terms of redevelopment. In essence we have to really figure out and maximize the most of that footprint that is down there. One of the things we talked about was to have a business professional, someone who specializes in that type of redevelopment, to come in and work with the borough and the redevelopment committee and the borough council, to put a plan forward that makes sense for down there.

Johnson: I think there are two problems. There is the problem with taxes and the problem with the enormous water rate increases. ... And we have talked to a lot of seniors who are complaining that they are on a fixed income. And over the past three years the water has gone up 300 percent. The problem with the taxes is, this year there is only a 2 percent increase and last year was a zero percent increase. But people remember in ’07 there was a 33 percent increase. In three years they raised taxes 35 percent. I believe people are paying more in North Arlington and getting less.

Kearney: Rising taxes. I feel that is the biggest problem. I am just hoping that I can somehow can look at the budget personally and try with my colleagues to suggest ways to decrease taxes. I don’t think it has necessarily to do with the budget. We have approximately 47 acres of land that can be redeveloped and can help to offset the high taxes that we have. I understand that the mayor and council passed a budget with only a 2-percent tax increase and its, unfortunately, I think they get a certain amount of money in and put it toward the budget. Not thinking once they utilize it, it’s gone.

Where is the money going to come from next year?

It’s a Band-Aid on a big problem, and the Band-Aid is not going to stick anymore. So basically the present administration can enjoy for the time being that taxes are stable, when they are absolutely not.

What would you like to see in the Porete Avenue area?

DiBlasi: If you remember my campaign with Al, whatever we do with this Master Plan is not going to be something personally amongst the council and the mayor. We are open government. We are going to have this Master Plan, we are going to present it to the public. And present it to them properly, not at these secret meetings like with our former mayor, Russell Pitman, and that little group that they had years ago. ... We are going to have this Master Plan and we are going to give the pros and the cons to the public. And if the public is happy with it then it will be a go.

Granell: I think when you start talking about Porete Avenue, the first trap you get into is isolating a piece of property and then figuring out what you are going to do with it. Then you are focused on that and you don’t pay attention to the other things as well. So what we really need to do is have a brownsfield expert, someone who really understands how to get the most of this property. … We have Porete Avenue and the Bethlehem Steel property.

Should we make Porete Avenue a business district? Should we make a recreational facility down here? Should we have Walmart or a restaurant chain or movie chain come in? A hotel or convention center? So what we are looking to do is, rather than do things in piecemeal and attack it that way, we want to have an encompassed overall plan. ... Well, I think the important thing is whether it’s a mix use of solar or wind or business district or retail or commercial or park. It all has to be encompassed in the plan and one that makes sense for the borough.

Johnson: My idea is to generate new sources of commercial tax revenue. That’s what I want to run on. North Arlington has some of the most undeveloped land in Bergen County off of Porete Avenue. We need to bring in warehouses. Right now we have an H&M warehouse that brings in a huge amount of tax money and gives thousands of jobs down there.

We have room for maybe 15 more of those types of warehouses. So not only bringing jobs to North Arlington and stimulating the economy. By giving people jobs, those people will come to North Arlington and shop in North Arlington. They will buy stuff in North Arlington. Now also saying when we have a budget shortfall, I don’t have to go to a homeowner and say, ‘We are short, so we have to raise your taxes 22 percent.’ No. You’re making your own money.

This idea has been around for a long time. Then we had the mess with Cherokee and EnCap and the homes. But this was an idea first proposed by the Republicans a long time ago.

Kearney: I would like to see happen some type of revitalization on Porete Avenue. And I am hoping there are mechanisms for myself and the town and council to get involved and help and assist in guidance to find out from property owners what they are looking for, so we can bring that in line with the rest of North Arlington.

How do you feel about dirty politics in NA?

DiBlasi: If you don’t speak to the issues then you grasp for straws and that’s what these guys are looking (to do). They tried to pick on Mr. Antonicello, they tried to pick on Hull Street, are those issues that the town is really interested in? The issues is what the Republicans should be looking at. Stop looking at whether I paved Hull Street and stop looking at Nick Antonicello and that stupid thing he voted yes on. Look at the facts. Look at the issues.

That’s what the Republicans should be honing in on. But they are not smart enough. Or maybe we have done such a great job with our three years we have been in office, so they have nothing to grab on. They are grabbing on air, or ghosts.

Granell: I think from my perspective, three years ago this gentleman and myself, were unknown. If you told either Sal or myself that you were going to be in politics, in the mayor and council and making decisions for the borough, we probably would’ve thought you were crazy. … When it comes to mudslinging I think what happens is that you have guys, partisans if you will, that are carrying a lot of baggage from past elections. And old habits die hard. ... I got a phone call from our senators that James Bocchino, who ran two campaigns against North Arlington Democrats, was going to be elected to the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission and what our input was on that.

Now if I was a partisan person and I heard Jimmy Bocchino was going to the Meadowlands Commission, I would say that is a bad thing, he’s run against us and so forth.

But there has to come a point in time when you have to put your partisanship for the better good. You have to check that at the door. When it came to putting Jimmy Bocchino on the Meadowlands Commission, as far as we were concerned it was a home run. And the reason it was a home run, there is a North Arlington person being appointed on a board to help North Arlington. Jimmy wasn’t a GOP person or Democratic person. He was a North Arlington person being put on the board.

Johnson: My objective here is to run a clean campaign… My objective is to get the facts to every story. I think the Democrats respect that and the Republicans respect that. I respect that as a politician. There is always two sides to every story. Honestly I think it’s good for North Arlington. I truly, truly think it’s good for North Arlington, because it shows people are involved and they are active. I mean they had me on NA Today, they had me out there with a Chris Christie sign and I was by myself and you know I was showing my support for Chris Christie and that’s my right as an American. So I don’t think that is necessarily a bad thing.

Kearney: It does seem to me that there has been a lack of the following of what I refer to as the rule of law. There is a Web site I have become familiar with called North Arlington Today. And although I can’t say specifically who is inputting the twisted information on the Web site, which also exhibits pictures of me attached to other people’s bodies, as well as my running mate Chris Johnson. It’s not really North Arlington Today, its looking through the eyes of the heavily political Democratic party.