To the editor: During this year’s campaign many issues, accusations and of course innuendos have been carelessly tossed about in an effort to elect or get elected. The issue that always gets lost in any campaign is character. The character of anyone seeking public office must transcend issues and party affiliation. That is why I am writing a letter for Carmen Scangarello. I want this man to be part of our local government not just because of his stance on the issues, although in my opinion his record is outstanding, but because of the man that he is. I met Carmen two years ago while I was working on a PAL project. After our meeting we exchanged normal pleasantries and that was what I thought would be the end of it. To my surprise, two weeks later I received a call from Carmen asking me if any progress had been made on the PAL issue and asked if there was anything further he could do to help! The issue is and continues to be an environmental protection issue that cannot be resolved easily. That did not, however, stop Carmen from doing his best to help the PAL! In our subsequent conversations we discussed my former involvement in West Milford as Chairman of the Economic Development Committee, member of the Planning Board, as well as PAL issues. I was extremely impressed with the depth of Carmen’s knowledge and vision as well as his concern for our community. Recently, I had the pleasure of working with Carmen again on an issue with the Apshawa Fire Company of which I am a member. Carmen was asked to attend several meetings with members of our company on a project to expand our building, what was impressive about those meetings was not what he said but the fact that he always, always listened! Again, Carmen followed up with several calls to me to learn how our project was proceeding, how he could help and also wanting to learn more about our fire company, our equipment and our issues. Thanks to Carmen, Apshawa is making significant progress with our project. This man tells you what he is going to do and he does it. I strongly encourage anyone reading this letter to cast their vote on November 8 for Carmen Scangarello. Ralph Villecca Newfoundland