The Lakedwood Vaad, will be restructured to better respond to the concerns of the community, the Vaad announced in a letter to Lakewood residents. An Ichud Rabbonim is going to be formed for the purpose of giving guidance to the 11-member Vaad, which issues political endorsements and takes positions on various civic matters.

“It is the intent . . . to place the Vaad under the guidance of the Ichud Rabbonim and through that to ensure that the needs of the entire Kehilla are appropriately met,” the letter stated.

The Vaad was created by leaders at Beth Medrash Govoha, which has long been the magnet that’s drawn Frum families to Lakewood. Now, however, many of the newer residents have no connection to the yeshiva, which has injected a new dynamic into town politics, say close observers of the Lakewood scene.

The announcement of the Vaad’s restructuring was included in a letter in which the Vaad also made its election endorsements for the municipal, House and U.S. Senate races.

“We sincerely recognize that the Vaad . . . must adapt in order to better represent the needs of a growing and diverse,” the letter stated.

Joe Atlas, a Vaad member and spokesman for the group, said it has become increasingly difficult for the Vaad to respond to all the various concerns of residents as Lakewood’s population grows. “As much as the Vaad tries to meet the needs of everybody in the community, it cannot meet with every single person,” Atlas said.

The Vaad comprises 11 Frum leaders. The Ichud Rabbonim will include between 60 and 70 Rabbonim from Lakewood’s K’hillos, Atlas said.

The expectation is that the Ichud Rabbonim will be better able to keep their fingers on the pulse of the community and bring concerns to the Vaad.

In its endorsement letter, the Vaad wrote, “As we see it, municipal government needs to drastically and rapidly change across the board and become much more responsive to the needs of the Kehilla and Yochid”.

The Vaad endorsed two incumbent Orthodox committeemen seeking re-election — Meir Lichtenstein and Menashe Miller.

“We have asked Meir and Menashe to implement a forceful program of change in the way town hall is run and operates,” the letter stated. “This will include some significant personnel changes and restructuring, backed by a continued aggressive advocacy for the needs of each and every individual in Lakewood. It will adjust the Quality of Life ordinance, so that it is focused solely on where it belongs, on abusive landlords.”

The landlords who gathered in protest at the mayor’s house have sued the township over its quality-of-life measures, arguing that the ordinances are “unconstitutionally vague.”

Instead of zeroing in on bad landlords, the ordinances are enforced in a capricious manner, members of the Lakewood Landlords Association have argued.

Lichtenstein, a Democrat, is running with Michael Sernotti, chairman of the township’s Zoning Board of Adjustment. They face Republicans Menashe Miller, an incumbent, and Hannah Havens, the former township welfare director.

As for the restructuring of the Vaad, Lichtenstein said: “The outreach the Vaad did before, and the issues that arose, were fewer because the community was smaller. I think the Vaad realizes that as the community grows they have to grow with the community.”

APP