Meet the new mayor of Oakland and check out his to-do list
OAKLAND — It took two photo finishes and a recount to get him there, but Eric Kulmala was finally sworn in as borough mayor.
Kulmala defeated three-term Democratic Mayor Linda Schwager by 67 votes, narrowed to 21 votes after a court-mandated recount of the November election results in December. He lost to Schwager by a similarly narrow 63 votes in 2019.
Kulmala is 58 and a lifelong resident of the borough. He's an Indian Hills High School graduate, a volunteer fireman and a first aid squad member, served as a councilman for nine years and is a Republican county committeeman.
Kulmala downplays the significance of returning the six-member Borough Council to all-Republican status, including the appointment of Jodi Goffredo to fill his council seat. He contends that disagreements were civil, even when Democrats and Republicans shared the podium.
"Our Republican members don't always agree, either," Kulmala said in a phone interview. "Right now we need to be politically active."
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Kulmala outlines his concerns and goals in his January Mayor's Message, posted on the borough's website at oakland-nj.org.
The borough has "moved quickly" to install a water purification system to combat a statewide problem with PFAS contaminants, and it is due to be operational in February, Kulmala said. He said the borough's reliance on private wells and septic systems continues to hamper the development of its commercial area.
The ailing Patriots Way Bridge across the Ramapo River has been closed for a month because of stability concerns, and a June state grant has finally facilitated construction.
"We will be having a public meeting in the next 30 to 60 days to discuss plans for its replacement," Kulmala said. "We're ready to go."
The new mayor has been a champion of the borough's circa-1740 Hendrick Van Allen house, at Ramapo Valley Road and Franklin Avenue, most recently undergoing a landscaping facelift after the securing of the structure, where George Washington stayed while moving his troops through the area.
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"We started out six years ago fixing leaks to the roof, and now want to spruce it up, fixing a fence and plantings," Kulmala said.
As an information technology engineer in the communications industry, Kulmala said his overarching concern is maximizing information to residents.
"We want to be as transparent as possible," he said.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Meet new mayor of Oakland, NJ Eric Kulmala and his to-do list
