Mount Olive Votes

Community - Integrity - Commitment

It's our mission is to unite our community together and fight to restore economic opportunity, improve public safety, and make people the priority over politics.

Running for Town Council 2025
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John Ferrante
Re-Elect 4 Year Term

John Ferrante is a resident of the Pershing Estates Section of Budd Lake, where he lives with his wife Lynn-Marie and 3 children.  He’s been a resident in Mt. Olive for over 20 years.  His daughter Angelina is a Senior at Mt. Olive High School.  His son Nicholas is a Sophomore at Mt. Olive High School, and his son Joseph is in 6th grade at Mt. Olive Middle School.

John is a graduate of Seton Hall University with a B.S. Degree in Business Management.  He is currently employed as a Director at MetLife Investment Management in Whippany, NJ, where he manages a Private Asset Operations Team.  Prior to that, John spent 20 years at JP Morgan in New York City within their Asset Management Division for High Net Worth/Wealth Management as well as their Institutional Client Service team.
John is currently going on his 13th year as a Mt. Olive Councilman.  He is currently the Council Liaison for the Mt. Olive Public Library and the Mt. Olive Recreation Advisory Committee. John was previously a Liaison to the Mt. Olive Open Space Committee as well as the Environmental Committee. Prior to being on council had brief stint as a member of the Mt. Olive Planning Board.

John is a Board Member of the Mt. Olive Soccer Club where he has also coached for almost 15 years.  He has also volunteered for several years as a baseball coach for the Mt. Olive Baseball and Softball Association.  He is a 3rd degree member of the Knights of Columbus at St. Jude’s Thaddeus Church. John is a member of the Budd Lake Association, Morris County Republican Committee, and the Mt. Olive Republican Club.

While serving Mt. Olive, John is proud of the work that Mayor Robert Greenbaum, Mayor Joe Nicastro and he and his fellow Council Members have done to sustain a zero increase in municipal taxes for many years, where they have often battled an uncertain economy, growing municipality, and increase in costs. Since joining the town council, John has very much been interested in improving the Budd Lake Beach area, which the town has plans to enhance in the very near future.  John loves the sense of community in Mt. Olive and can often be found at Turkey Brook Park with his kids or coaching the 2012 boys Mt. Olive Travel Soccer team.  He loves the fact that Mt. Olive has something for everyone from water activities on Budd Lake, Premier Parks and Recreation activities at Turkey Brook Park, a State of the Art Public Library, and one of the best school systems in NJ. 
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John Mania
Re-Elect 4 Year Term

Mount Olive Township Councilman John Mania, entering his sixteenth year as a council member, is an affable guy, always ready with friendly conversation.

Mania, 84, grew up in Paterson, and attended Saint Anthony’s Parochial School for elementary and middle school education, and then Passaic County Vocational and Technical School for high school. He was one of five children — three brothers and two sisters — growing up in a locale that was one of New Jersey’s top cities for commerce and history.

He has been serving for 15 years as a Eucharistic Minister for Holy Communion at Saint Jude Parish in Mount Olive. “It’s very important. I’m a member of the Knights of Columbus – I’m a former Grand Knight – and the good that the Knights do, which is a Catholic organization, the good they do for people in need impresses me.”

“I’m just thrilled to be a resident of Mount Olive, and to be a member of the Town Council, and the Planning Board for many years.” Mania, a former member and President of the Mount Olive Township Library Board of Trustees, as well as former Vice-Chairman of the Board of Adjustment, presently serves as Council Liaison to the Planning Board.

Mania (who currently works in sales for Sparta Redi-mix of Sparta, New Jersey) and his wife, Lillian, have been married for 30+ years, and he is a Dad to three sons and two stepdaughters: John, Michael, Robert, Lori, and Karen
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Charles "Chuck" Aaron
Re-Elect 4 Year Term

Chuck Aaron is a 20-year resident of Mount Olive with his wife Angela and 2 sons. Andrew is a Senior at TCNJ and Michael is a Sophomore at the University of Alabama. Both boys attended school in Mount Olive.

Seton Hall University is where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in Advertising Art and Minor in Business Administration. At NJIT he earned his MBA with a focus in Finance and Technology. He is currently the owner of Jersey Girl Brewing in Mount Olive which opened in 2016. 

He’s a results-oriented, decisive Business Leader with over 35 years of business development, finance, and operations experience. Skilled in analyzing existing businesses and implementing strategies, processes, and technologies to improve efficiency and operating results. His ability to facilitate change supports delivering financial and operating objectives.

These are all capabilities that he brings to his role as Town Councilman.

He believes strongly in being a team player contributing organizational, communication and leadership skills with proven ability in developing plans to meet both short and long-term goals.

All skills he brings to bear as a member of the Town Council.

Chuck has served on the Mount Olive Area Chamber of Commerce for the past seven years with 2024 being his fifth as president. He is Vice President of the 200 Club in Morris County; is a member of the Economic Development Committee; has served as President and Treasurer of the Mt. Olive High School Parents Football Association; and was a coach of recreation football, baseball, and basketball.

Chuck is Town Council Liaison to the Board of Education, is a member of the Morris County Republican Committee, and the Mount Olive Republican Club.
 
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Raffaele Ruggiero
Elect 4 Year Term

25 years ago, my wife of 7 years, Veronika and myself made the decision to move to Mount Olive from NYC . We were looking for a safe area with a good school system where we could raise our two boys. Call it divine intervention, because at the time, my family was finding housing difficult in other NJ towns, with landlords refusing to accept children, yes, that sounds ridiculous, but true. Feeling dejected and exhausted, we did what every rational couple would do and closed our eyes, spun the paper map and wherever our finger landed was where we were going, not 100% accurate, but close enough. We were blessed enough to find a cute apartment in a private home in Budd Lake, the ridicule from family was endless, with a name like that, but we would be the ones laughing last. In a short time, we were up and running and couldn’t be more ecstatic.

At the time, I was a union surveyor in NYC. Helping to build infrastructure from building foundations to highways and bridges and every type of utility available in the big city. After ten years of doing boy stuff, mud, football, track, we were blessed with two little girls. Though my career had naturally progressed from being a part to now leading a team as a construction supervisor. Taking responsibility and stewardship role of building for the city and its citizens. It was instilled in me as a child and reinforced in the Marine Corp, to adapt, adjust and overcome and boy was I going to need those lessons, to change my mindset and technique, when raising those two little ladies. Thank God for my wife who helped in teaching me the mindset needed for raising good, independent young ladies. What didn’t change?   The feeling when crossing the GW or one of the tunnels and knowing that I was home in NJ and the stress of that day almost all behind.

Amongst all this business of life, raising a family, working more than a full-time career and creating and running a small business for the past 25 years, we were able to befriend many wonderful people in our town. Though I always paid attention to local politics and blessed them enough to support those who had a positive vision of growth and sustainability, running for the privilege to serve as a representative of the people, just wasn’t something there was time for, even though there was a desire to one day serve.
The time is now that I ask for the privilege of representing friends, neighbors, and fellow citizens of the Mount Olive family. I know the struggles, successes, failures and hard work that it takes to sustain our personhood in an increasingly demanding life. My platform is simple, though not easy, quality of life. This entails good stewardship of the monies collected through taxes and fees, deciding and administering those funds for the sustaining of useful services and improving upon those services with efficiency adding only those things that will ensure the citizens are receiving value for their monies.

No small task given the growth Mount Olive has experienced since its inception. I am humbly asking to be granted responsibility for our successful today and to lay the foundation for following generations of tomorrow.
 

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