10-06-2022 11:28am

CANDIDATES FOR THE CITY COUNCIL SHARE THEIR THOUGHTS, Candidates L-S

Tova Felder Neighbor

Election day is coming up on Tuesday, November 8th, and voters in Clifton have the opportunity to make big changes to our city council this year. All seven seats are up for grabs and just five of our current members are running for another term. Mayor Anzaldi and Councilman Peter Eagler are not on the ballot.

Members of the Facebook group, Clifton News and Community, submitted questions for the candidates, revealing some of the topics that were of interest to the community. All seventeen candidates responded to the questionnaire and their answers were copied and pasted, exactly as submitted. Due to the large number of candidates, they will be presented in several separate installments.

Following are our final five candidates, alphabetical by last name, and their responses as entered. Candidates who offered their website or Facebook page will be linked to their media page. You can click on their names to take you there.

Antonio Latona, ballot position #10

Why are you running? Please limit your response to one or two sentences: My entire life has been dedicated to serving the public starting as a teenager being a Red Cross volunteer; 30+ years with the US Air Force, and a career Clifton firefighter and EMT. I spend a lot of my free time supporting anything for Clifton such as being a part of our veterans programs, school events, Relay for Life, Avenue of Flags, Clifton Cares, Tank Pull, Hurricane relief etc. This dedication and experience has taught me complex problem solving skills that I can bring to the council table to help resolve issues that involve our great City.

How have you educated yourself on the workings of our City Council and kept up with current issues facing the city? If you are an incumbent, how long have you held a seat on City Council? For the past 16 years since I was a candidate for city council, I have been very involved in all aspects of Clifton workings, attending city council and board meetings, been appointed to committees such as ACTION Clifton and Recycling committee, also I have stayed updated in the budgeting process. Before retiring, I spent my career as a Clifton firefighter wherein I gained inside knowledge of how city hall functions, how the sausage is made and I will bring my knowledge and experience to the table and help make our budget leaner.

What is your plan to improve communication and transparency with the citizens of the city? Improving transparency and communication are a major part of my “Contract with Clifton”. If elected, my number one priority at the first council meeting will entail convincing my council colleagues to support my motion that anytime the council meets in quorum, the meetings will all be aired on TV and the internet so the taxpayers can have insight on all discussions happening at the council table especially budget meetings. As for communications, our City website needs major upgrades to be more user friendly. We need to utilize social media more to give real time updates to our residents on Clifton happenings especially things that impact our quality of life such as road closures, flooding etc.

What are your plans to address the flooding problem within our city, which has increased over the years? My first and foremost plan is to immediately update our master plan and zoning laws to prevent any further high-density housing or commercial real estate from being built to stop the bleeding. This is where my military and firefighter experience become an asset to the council. When a storm is coming, we know which areas are going to flood. So, what can we do? I would like to start with solutions such as working with the sewer authority board and develop a targeted maintenance plan adding more sewer piping and grates in those areas to absorb water into the system quicker. We can consider pre-position water pumps in those areas to help divert the water into other drains farther away which are not being overwhelmed by the system. We can also look at possibility of using the DPW 5,000 tanker truck to suck up the water and make trips to dump it not unlike what we already do with snow removal during large storms. We can look into making more drainage basins in areas that are flood prone to absorb more of the flooding impact. The Long-term strategy must be for the city and county to work together to upgrade the systems that are in many places more than 100 years old. Again, first thing we must do is stop over development and making the problem worse.

What are your thoughts on the possibility of garbage being picked up only once a week? Pros and cons? As many people know, I have been the champion for switching from separating recycling into several containers (sometimes being picked up only once a month) to co-mingling our recycling into only 2 bins and picked up bi-weekly with future hopes of weekly recycling pick-ups which will provide a better service to our residents and lower the garbage tonnage costs savings to the taxpayers. The reason why I bring recycling into the conversation of garbage is because they work hand in hand together. The only way weekly garbage pickups could even be considered is to also have weekly recycling pickups. The once-a-week garbage and recycling program that is used in other cities is something we can consider here in Clifton but should only be done after input from our residents to decide depending on what the cost savings to the taxpayers would be. I am not in favor of the garbage can provided option that is being considered. That will not work especially on our east side of our city. The residents must have the final say after serious discussions if the cost savings is worth the reduced service

What is your stance on opening legal cannabis businesses in Clifton? How did you arrive at that position? At this time I am not a proponent of the city approving any licenses for marijuana dispensaries in Clifton. I understand the state has legalized it for recreational use and has an incentive to allow 2% to be kicked back to the city budget. We must also ask ourselves, but at what cost? For those who are not aware, my Mom suffered a stroke 5 years ago. I have first-hand knowledge of the benefits of the use of marijuana. When pharmaceutical medicines didn't work and/or the side effects made her worse, we tried medical marijuana and it worked. Her medical condition and quality of life have significantly improved. That being said, because this just became law here in NJ, I would like a few years of data to see how dispensaries impact other cities first. There is an old saying I have used many times when something new happens. It’s called “the law of unintended consequences”. My greatest concern is having dispensaries on roads and in areas where children walk to schools, parks, etc. I feel this is too important of an issue to make a hasty decision unless I was 110% sure there will be no negative impact on our children or the quality of life of residents surrounding these dispensaries. Clifton has a very low vacancy rate for small business storefronts so I don't feel it will impact the tax ratable to our city.

Residential use of fireworks - where do you stand on banning all types from residences? If I am not mistaken, firework sales were passed to be legal in the state of NJ many years ago so I am not sure if we can ban all types of fireworks from residences. Like everyone else, I also become annoyed by fireworks being set off all hours of the night. In a perfect world I would love to have it agreed to by our residents that unless for a special occasion, fireworks are used only the week surrounding the celebration of July 4th when our great country obtained our independence.

Do you plan on tackling the problem of brown water throughout Clifton? How? Let me start off by staying that last week PVWC came to a city council meeting and gave a comprehensive report on the brown water affecting Clifton residents. Part of the solution is to first stop any future overdevelopment that has put a strain on our 100 plus year-old infrastructure piping. We need to work with PVWC to immediately implement a plan to change the piping in the areas that have been affected the most with brown water. We must also continue the flushing program that we were told will help elevate the problem in the meantime. Lastly PVWC needs to come up with a credit formula for residents who must flow their water for extended periods of time and then also pay for it twice because of the sewer fee. This isn't acceptable to the taxpayers.

The city is creating a Civil Rights Committee. How do you envision using such a group, made of volunteers from all sections of Clifton? Right now, the committee is in its infancy stage as the group of volunteers from our city are selected. Fortunately, we live in America’s 25th most diverse city and being a lifelong Clifton resident I’m proud to say, we have had very few instances that needed to be addressed in a city of 90,000 plus residents. Once the committee is formed, it will than work with our elected officials to come up with a strategy so moving forward if something ever needs to be addressed, we will have a mechanism in place to follow where the committee will have a voice at the table.

If you are elected, what are your top TWO priority projects - the things you most want to tackle in your first year? What do you see as the biggest issue facing the current Council? Please limit your response to no more than three sentences per issue. If elected, the first two priority projects again are: Day one begins with working with my council colleges to make drastic upgrades to our master plan and zoning laws. Second, begin infrastructure upgrades to elevate the flooding and traffic problems plaguing our city on a near daily basis. The biggest issue facing the current council has to be the police salary guide that has destroyed the police hiring and retention problem for the last 10 years. The impact on public safety and the financial cost to the taxpayers for refusing to resolve the problem in a timely manner had a drastic negative effect on our city.

Francesco Muoio, ballot position #6

Why are you running? Please limit your response to one or two sentences: I have found a home in Clifton and want to be part of the leadership team that takes a great City and makes it better, tackling our issues head on. I believe my background in government and business is highly applicable to the Council.

How have you educated yourself on the workings of our City Council and kept up with current issues facing the city? If you are an incumbent, how long have you held a seat on City Council? First, I attend and speak at the City Council meetings. Second, I have sought out the advice and have built relationships with several of the current City Council members. Third, I have met with the City Manager to learn what he feels are the most important issues facing Clifton and to learn about the inner workings of our municipal government.

What is your plan to improve communication and transparency with the citizens of the city? While Clifton’s website is a good source of information, Clifton needs to do a better job of getting out “immediate” news/updates to its citizens. This can be achieved through having a much better presence on major social media platforms. This is common practice in most other municipalities. While the full-time position of “Communications Director” for Clifton is a nice concept, it may not be realistic given current budget constraints. One potential solution may be to shift the responsibility of managing social media platforms to the City Manager’s Assistant, while hiring a part time social media consultant to assist with the execution.

What are your plans to address the flooding problem within our city, which has increased over the years? Poor planning and overdevelopment have put a significant burden on our aging infrastructure/sewer system and basins. We need to prioritize updating our Master Plan so that any development maintains open space and minimizes the impact of our city’s roads, infrastructure, and school system. We need to make sure our basins are cleaned regularly. Finally, we need to seek the counsel of experts and determine the cost to fix our aging infrastructure. The writing is on the wall in terms of cost. As such, we need to assertively apply pressure to our representatives in Congress and the US Senate to pursue whatever grants are available in order to make these upgrades a realistic endeavor. We can’t put more of a burden on our taxpayers.

What are your thoughts on the possibility of garbage being picked up only once a week? Pros and cons? It’s not ideal, but local governments all over the state are dealing with the reality of significant price increases for services from contractors, including garbage pickup. The price increases are due to the effects of inflation. We must assess our options and make a decision that will keep the service going as efficiently as possible, while minimizing the financial hit to the taxpayers.

What is your stance on opening legal cannabis businesses in Clifton? How did you arrive at that position? Whether you agree with it or not, cannabis is now legal in New Jersey. While a majority of Clifton residents did vote to legalize cannabis, allowing cannabis businesses to operate in Clifton is a separate issue.

I address this issue from a business perspective, assessing potential profit, as well as risk and quality of life issues. I question that the potential profitability of these businesses can offset the risks associated with operating them at this time. Also, at least a portion of any profits from these businesses will go towards police training regarding cannabis issues, including drug recognition training.

Over time, we will get enough of a sample size in New Jersey to properly assess if these businesses can generate “game-changing” revenues for Clifton, and then we will need to assess it.

Residential use of fireworks - where do you stand on banning all types from residences? Quality of life issues have become a problem in Clifton, and we need to protect our residents. We need to have clear laws governing the use of fireworks. I think it is ok to allow certain “low risk” fireworks for 4th of July festivities, and that “low risk” fireworks should be defined by the city. However, beyond that I do not think residential use of fireworks should be allowed. It is both a quality of life and safety issue for our residents. I support a strict ordinance regarding this issue.

Do you plan on tackling the problem of brown water throughout Clifton? How?

We can’t go on the way we have. We need to apply pressure to the PVWC. Flushing is clearly a temporary fix. Per the PVWC, long term solutions include hydrant modification and water main replacement. We need to pursue long term solutions. I also support water bill rebates for Clifton residents who have been affected by this ongoing problem. We need clean, safe drinking water for all our residents.

The city is creating a Civil Rights Committee. How do you envision using such a group, made of volunteers from all sections of Clifton? I think the Civil Rights Committee is a great idea. I think Clifton’s diversity is a core strength. I also believe Clifton has the potential to be a leader in terms of how to successfully manage relations between a diverse citizenry. The core unifying factor is that we are all Americans and want to prosper.

I believe that the committee should have representation among all the various communities that make up this great city. The committee should be used to promote community, as well as deal with issues that arise among different groups.

If you are elected, what are your top TWO priority projects - the things you most want to tackle in your first year? What do you see as the biggest issue facing the current Council? Please limit your response to no more than three sentences per issue. First, I will work to restore professionalism to a fractured Council. The division among the current Council does no one any good, and it casts our city in a negative light. If given the opportunity to serve, I will immediately seek to build working relationships with the other six Council members. We will not agree on all issues, but we will need to work together, be cordial, build consensus, and get things done. Good relations matter.

Second, we need to prioritize updating the city’s Master Plan, to ensure going forward that any development does not contribute to flooding issues. Furthermore, on this topic, we need to assess and aggressively work toward long term solutions to both our clean water, as well as overdevelopment/flooding issues.

Lauren Murphy, ballot position #14

Why are you running? Please limit your response to one or two sentences: Clifton is still a great city and a place that many are proud to call home. I would like to continue making it even better than it is already.

What is your plan to improve communication and transparency with the citizens of the city? I have not formulated a plan yet, but it is definitely in my top 2 immediate improvements if I am reelected.

What are your plans to address the flooding problem within our city, which has increased over the years? We actually are working on that already. The engineers are identifying the old problem areas as well as the new ones. The work has started, and I commit to stay on top of this serious situation.

What are your thoughts on the possibility of garbage being picked up only once a week? Pros and cons? I have listened to many of the residents who feel uncomfortable with once-a-week pickups. The pro is that it will be cheaper because less hours will be spent on the road by the collectors, and the con is that large families and small businesses will have too much garbage accumulating and that is unhealthy for their neighborhoods. Some neighborhoods have no driveways, and the trash would be sitting on the street for 6 days.

What is your stance on opening legal cannabis businesses in Clifton? How did you arrive at that position? I have the same stance that I had when we voted on it. We should wait and see how it plays out in other cities and then vote again if there are positive results elsewhere.

Residential use of fireworks - where do you stand on banning all types from residences? I believe I was the 1st one to address this at the Council meeting. Fireworks should be limited only to the stadium on very special occasions, other than that there should be NO fireworks at residences. Veterans and animals are very disturbed by fireworks, and they should not be permitted.

Do you plan on tackling the problem of brown water throughout Clifton? How?

The PVWC gave a very informative presentation about the brown water on Tuesday. They are addressing it and handling it now, and I spoke with the Director privately and he assured me that the pipes in the bad areas will be replaced.

The city is creating a Civil Rights Committee. How do you envision using such a group, made of volunteers from all sections of Clifton? I am on the Committee. It will address concerns and problems of our residents in all areas of our City, especially when it comes to discrimination.

If you are elected, what are your top TWO priority projects - the things you most want to tackle in your first year? What do you see as the biggest issue facing the current Council? Please limit your response to no more than three sentences per issue. My 2 priorities are definitely communicating with our citizens, so they are informed of the many important happenings here and definitely the flooding situation which was previously discussed. As far as the present Council, there is a lot of animosity between several of the members and it should be addressed and rectified..

Rosemary Pino, ballot position #16

Why are you running? Please limit your response to one or two sentences: I am running to continue making changes that will improve the quality of life in our City. Strengthen our zoning ordinances to curtail over development, find ways to stablize taxes and find other sources of revenue, and improve communication with our constituents so they may have a voice in the way we govern.

How have you educated yourself on the workings of our City Council and kept up with current issues facing the city? If you are an incumbent, how long have you held a seat on City Council? I will be completing my 4th year as a Councilwoman which is also my 1st term. I routinely consult with the City Manager on current events that impact the City.

What is your plan to improve communication and transparency with the citizens of the city? That has been one of my on-going projects with respect to improving communication and transparency throughout the city. I have work diligently to change the ways we advertise our committees and engage the public. As we continue to improve our City-wide communication, when re-elected, I plan to continue to urge my colleagues to consider townhall meetings, city tours for clifton residents, website improvements, a communication director, and other ways to engage our residents.

What are your plans to address the flooding problem within our city, which has increased over the years? My plan is to secure grants that will fund capital projects that focus on flood relief while strengthening ordinances that discourge building in flood areas. We also need to work with our legislators on ways to combat global warming and implement green concepts.

What are your thoughts on the possibility of garbage being picked up only once a week? Pros and cons? I discourage collection of garbage once a week because I feel it will attract rodents and wildlife and create odor problems over the summer months. In my opinion this is not worth the savings at the cost of further impacting the health and quality of life of our residents.

What is your stance on opening legal cannabis businesses in Clifton? How did you arrive at that position? The reality is that Recreational Cannabis is now legal in our City! On January 1, 2021, the constitutional amendment legalizing the recreational use of marijuana in the State of New Jersey took effect, upholding the will of 67% of voters in the democratic election held the previous November. I voted no! I am a mother and stepmother and I felt that legalizing recreational cannabis sends the wrong message to our youth. I was, however, supportive of its decriminalization, believing those that choose to smoke marijuana in the privacy of their own homes should not have to do so under the threat of jail.

My personal feelings aside, it is my obligation as your Councilwoman, to educate myself of Clifton’s options under the amendment and subsequent legislation. This included an Opt-Out for cities from allowing any of the 6 classes (cultivating, manufacturing, wholesaling, distributing, delivery, and retailer) to operate within their limits. The State deadline to opt out was August 21, 2021. Prior to the deadline, I joined City Manager Nick Villano, Chief of Police Thomas Rinaldi, the Lieutenant assigned to the Police Chief, and the Health Officer John Biegel on a tour of the Garden State Dispensary, located in Woodbridge, NJ. There, we saw firsthand the vertically-integrated operations (cultivation, manufacturing, retail), and it put many of our concerns to rest. I additionally continued to educate myself on the State’s process in handling the industry, the regulations and application process by attending the New Jersey Cannabis Regulatory Commission (CRC) meetings.

Of the six classes, there are four that deal only business to business (B2B), meaning no transactions would be with the public but would generate revenue to the city. I urged my colleagues to do their own research. This was to no avail, as the current council voted 6-1 to opt out of all classes with the consensus being the state had not provided enough guidance.

Residential use of fireworks - where do you stand on banning all types from residences? Most firework sales are already banned in NJ. I'm ok with the minor fireworks which are legally sold but for the ones that are illegal, we need to continue to enforce the law and step-up enforcement.

Do you plan on tackling the problem of brown water throughout Clifton? How?

Unfortunately, the problem is not up to the city administration. The City of Clifton is represented by two Commissioners who need to push the Passaic Valley Water to do more in getting some of the aged pipes relaced or to clean and line them as suggested by their Executive Director.

The city is creating a Civil Rights Committee. How do you envision using such a group, made of volunteers from all sections of Clifton? I continue to be instrumental in creating the committee. I envision the committee to grow to be represented by all sections of the city and to accomplish its purpose to unite and embrace our diversity.

If you are elected, what are your top TWO priority projects - the things you most want to tackle in your first year? What do you see as the biggest issue facing the current Council? Please limit your response to no more than three sentences per issue. One of my goals is to revisit the cannabis topic for revenue purposes. My second goal is to address some of our capital projects such as improving our parks and recreation, flooding issues, and safety. Additionally, our homeless issue on the east side town needs to be addressed. The biggest issue facing the council during my term was the unwillingness of my colleagues to work together. When re-elected, I pledge to continue to be a leader by leaving personal agendas and pettiness at the door to work in harmony with my colleagues.

Mary Sadrakula, ballot position #9

Why are you running? Please limit your response to one or two sentences: I am running to give back to the city I call home. I have a major investment in this city and want to continue to use my knowledge and experience a safer more affordable city to live in.

How have you educated yourself on the workings of our City Council and kept up with current issues facing the city? If you are an incumbent, how long have you held a seat on City Council? I was first elected to the city council in 2010 and served until 2014. I was re-elected in 2018 and am currently serving my second term. I have always been involved and kept abreast of the issues facing this city long before I ran for office.

What is your plan to improve communication and transparency with the citizens of the city? My motto is transparency makes good government. I am been very local that all council meetings should be televised and shown in our cable Tv. Nor should budget meetings be held on Saturdays when some can not attend due to religious holidays. I would also like to see the public portion of the council meetings be a back and forth between the speakers and individual council members. Many municipalities do this like Park Ridge.

There is no question given the lack of communication during the two recent water emergencies or the continued flooding emergencies and outrageous road closures due to construction that we need a communications system along with a communication director. I will urge my fellow council colleagues to add money to next year’s budget to create such a position.

What are your plans to address the flooding problem within our city, which has increased over the years? I have been very vocal against the overdevelopment in this city such as the 300 units on the old Black Prince Distillery (double the allowed density) or the Hotel on the Valley Regency or the proposed 21 units in Valley Road or new housing on Hazel Street. We need smart development not overdevelopment.

Our zoning laws are terribly outdated and need to be revised. Even a Passaic County Superior Court Judge stated this years ago. Along with this our Master Plan needs to finally be updated. The required 10 yr revision was due in 2018 and still has not been done.

Almost every section of Clifton is experiencing flooding in areas which never before flooded. Look at the residents along the Third River. Did you know all of the development like the Four Seasons Condos or the development on MSU all dump their stormwater into the Third River? Four Seasons has 9 detention basins - 2 in Clifton and 7 in Woodlawn Park but ALL dump into the Third River.

We need to pressure our state and federal legislators for the grant money to fix this flooding.

We need to stop overdevelopment with strong representation on our zoning board (members are appointed by the council) and our planning board (members are appointed by the mayor).

What are your thoughts on the possibility of garbage being picked up only once a week? Pros and cons? This council is in the process of going out to bid for our trash contract which expires at year end. The final bid proposal has not been yet been submitted to the council. One of the proposed options would be to have collection with these new carts (which would be given to residents) only once a week. I believe most residents are against this option as they do not want or have a place to store the trash especially in the hot summer months or during significant storm storms. I am not sure this would work in the highly densely populated areas of the city, multi family houses or houses with large families.

What is your stance on opening legal cannabis businesses in Clifton? How did you arrive at that position? This is a question no one will 100% agree on. It reminds me of the movement during my first term to change the council election from May to November. That question was put in the ballot as a referendum question where voters overwhelmingly voted to change the election. The council then voted unanimously to uphold the voters wishes. The cannabis ballot question was to legalize recreational cannabis in the state not specifically in Clifton. I have to wonder if the question was just to legalize cannabis in Clifton what the vote would have been.

Much of the pro stance is that this would create a new revenue stream for Clifton. No one points put the added cost which could negate this to a revenue loss not a net gain. This city would have to hire additional police officers who are DRE (Drug Recognition Experts) or bring more officers in on overtime. As we all know, Clifton has had a very difficult time retaining and hiring officers due to our uncompetitive salary guide. Nor was the cost of more ambulances and medical personnel factored in as there have been proven studies of the role of marijuana use has had in increased traffic accidents, medical emergencies and unfounded deaths. We only have 3 ambulances. I also have grace concerns with the use of cannabis in our youth. Is cannabis a gateway drug?

Remember how voters were told the billions from lottery sales or casino revenues would solve the educational woes and billions would go there? The same seduction promise was used in the cannabis debate and legislation passage. My comments are not directed to medical cannabis.

Residential use of fireworks - where do you stand on banning all types from residences? The residential use of fireworks has become a year round problem and not just in the 4th of July. I believe the city could stop the sale of any fireworks in Clifton with four council votes. Our ordinances need to be updated and fines increased to stop the illegal use. I was happy this council unanimously voted to deny the Upper Mountain Country Club’s request to have fireworks in Oct.

Do you plan on tackling the problem of brown water throughout Clifton? How?

This is a sad state of affairs that certain parts of Clifton have had brown water for years without any action to solve this from PVWC. PVWC must be held accountable. I do not buy their recent explanation that these areas have “old iron pipes” as the reason. Look at our neighboring owner cities of Passaic and Paterson. Both are older than Clifton with these same old iron pipes yet there have been no complaints of years of brown water nor have their pipes been replaced. We need two strong water commissioners who along with a strong governing body push an an immediate plan and solution with an acceptable timeframe. Clear, clean water is a necessity for all.

It is unbelievable that PVWC which is one of the largest water providers does not have their own emergency notification system to alert its customers if an emergency but relies on Clifton’s reverse 911 system. Where is all our money going to?

The city is creating a Civil Rights Committee. How do you envision using such a group, made of volunteers from all sections of Clifton? I am surprised at your question that after months of finally creating this committee and the passage on second reading of the ordinance to create this committee it is back to the drawing board as now an employee/employees want to be permanent members. Therefore, it is unsure at this point how the makeup of this committee will be.

Sadly, the formation of this committee highlights yet another example of the lack of communication with residents. I believe more input from the public should have been received and used in creating this committee. This seems to be an issue with most of the subcommittees of the council with not obtaining input from residents.

If you are elected, what are your top TWO priority projects - the things you most want to tackle in your first year? What do you see as the biggest issue facing the current Council? Please limit your response to no more than three sentences per issue. Only two issues? There are several like flooding/overdevelopment; brown water and the ability to retain and hire much needed police officers. I believe I have clearly stated my positions on these subjects in previous questions.

The largest issue facing this council after the above mentioned issues is the upcoming bid for our trash contract which expires at year end. We have been told we could face an over 40% increase on this $5 mil annually contract.The residents can no longer afford huge property tax increases in these challenging economic times we are in. How does this city provide the continued necessary services without overtaxing residents? Our police salary guide, while recently being increased does not solve the underlying issue that our salary guide is uncompetitive in years 4 to 6 and remains below our neighboring cities.

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The Clifton Democrats Club is hosting a Candidates’ Forum at City Hall on Wednesday, October 12 at 7 pm. This will give the community a chance to hear the candidates speak live. This event is open to the public.