Baglianos elected mayor as Ridgewood council adopts slate of appointments

Paul Baglianos was elected mayor and sworn in at the Village of Ridgewoodreorganization meeting on Jan. 6, 2025, after the council unanimously approved nominations for the village—s leadership. The council also confirmed a slate of administrative appointments and professional contracts by consent vote.

The council nominated and voted to appoint Baglianos to a two-year mayoral term that began at the Jan. 6 meeting. Council members then nominated Pamela R. Perrin as deputy mayor and Evan Weitz as president pro tempore; each nomination passed on roll-call votes. After each vote the newly chosen official took the oath of office: Congressman Josh Gottheimer administered the oath to Baglianos and to council member Paul Baglianos—s colleagues; Bergen County Executive James J. Tedesco administered at least one oath earlier in the sequence for newly elected councilmembers.

Why it matters: the reorganization sets Ridgewood—s leadership and confirms the officers who will set agendas, make committee assignments and represent the village through 2026 for the mayor—s seat and through 2028 for newly seated council members. The council also adopted a broad consent agenda intended to staff municipal boards and to retain professional services that the village uses for day-to-day and specialized legal, planning and financial functions.

Most important facts: the council approved the minutes referenced on the record and then took the nominations. The nomination of Paul Baglianos as mayor passed on a unanimous roll-call vote of council members present (Council member Winograd was recorded absent). Pamela R. Perrin was elected deputy mayor and Evan Weitz was elected president pro tempore, each by unanimous roll call. The council then approved Resolutions 25-1 through 25-36 by a single consent vote; that package included routine appointments (village attorney, bond counsel, labor counsel, auditor), professional services contracts (surveyor, social worker, grant writer), committee and board appointments, the village—s temporary budget and administrative forms such as the notice-of-tort-claims form.

Quotes: United States Congressman Josh Gottheimer, who administered Baglianos— oath, placed the local vote in a broader context and urged practical, nonpartisan focus on municipal tasks: "These are not partisan issues," he said. Bergen County Executive James J. Tedesco, who attended and administered earlier oaths, said Ridgewood and towns like it make the county "the place that it is."

What the consent agenda covered: the resolutions (25-1 through 25-36) on the consent agenda, read by title at the meeting, appointed key municipal professionals and dozens of volunteer positions on planning, zoning, parks and other advisory boards; authorized professional contracts including risk-management and grant-writing services; and certified the village—s compliance with federal civil-rights requirements and administrative forms.

Process and next steps: the votes were routine, by roll call, and no separate debate was recorded on the consent items during the meeting. The council closed the meeting after a public-comment period and adjourned.

Ending: With leadership and committee rosters finalized, the newly constituted council will move on to its regular work; several members and visiting officials emphasized cross-jurisdictional cooperation and support for municipal services during brief remarks following the swearing-in.