MOUNTAINSIDE, NJ—Two opposing visions for Mountainside’s future were on display tonight at the Mountainside Candidates Forum hosted by the League of Women Voters. While the incumbent candidates stood by the status quo, challenger candidates Anjali Mehrotra and Ileana Montes put forth a bold plan for change.

Mehrotra and Montes made a powerful case for the need to bring fresh perspectives and ideas to Borough Hall. Their answers focused on Council’s wasteful spending, slow responses to citizen’s complaints, and failure to protect Mountainside from a costly lawsuit. Mehrotra and Montes also laid out their plans to increase transparency and accountability in Borough Hall by strengthening Mountainside’s Ethics Review Board to avoid conflicts of interest, using new technology to increase efficiency and save money, and improving communication with residents.

The audience responded enthusiastically to these new proposals. As the night went on, it became more and more clear that Mountainside is ready for change and that Mehrotra and Montes were addressing the right issues. Change is in the air all around the country, and based on tonight’s forum it looks like it will soon be coming to Mountainside.

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