From left, Joe Biamonte, Charlie Schwartz, NJ Speaker of the House Vincent Prieto, NJ State PBA President Pat Colligan and Executive Vice President Marc Kovar. Charlie notes that his time spent with President Colligan, Executive Vice President Kovar and elected officials will be a great asset in serving on the PFRS Board.
A TALE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 27
City Local 24 State Delegate Keith Bennett is relinquishing when he retires on Nov. 1. Why is Charlie adding to what might be the fullest plate this side of NJ State PBA President Pat Colligan? Perhaps he’ s looking for another way to serve with the hours he has available between 2 a. m. and 4 a. m.
Seriously, here’ s why Charlie Schwartz is supremely qualified to be the NJ State PBA’ s endorsed candidate for the pension board:
• In a small department like Saddle River, he’ s a do-it-all officer who might be directing traffic on patrol in the morning and doing detective work that afternoon, and thus has never lost the point of view from all perspectives on the job.
• He became active with Saddle River Local 348 from the first day he came on the job 17 years ago and worked his way up serving as treasurer, vice president and president for two years each before becoming State Delegate in 2009.
• He’ s been chair of the Local’ s contract negotiations committee the past three rounds, and though it’ s one of those double-edged swords, it is worthwhile to note that Saddle River has the highest paid officers in the state.
And here’ s why Charlie Schwartz is supremely qualified to be a PFRS Trustee:
• In addition to being Bergen County Conference chair, he has been on the State PBA Executive Board for three years, currently serving as a trustee and starting out as parliamentarian.
• He also serves on State PBA Scholarship, Bi-laws, Judiciary and Legislative Committees, as well as being a founding member of the union’ s Political Action Committee.
• Charlie helped inaugurate the Bergen County Political Assistance Committee that has become a blueprint for county and municipal influencing of candidates being elected throughout the state.
• To be a PFRS Trustee, Charlie will have to trade the perks of being an area vice president for the National Association of Police Organizations( NAPO) for the paperwork of the pension board.
“ Besides getting home safe every day, the pension is the most important aspect of the job for all officers, and I want them to have somebody on that board who is empathetic to their situations,” Charlie explains about his PFRS Trustee aspirations.
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“ I want to be there to protect the pension. I’ m not saying I’ m going to be somebody’ s rubber stamp. I want to figure out ways to make things work, not find ways to not make them work.”
Uniform decision
Finding ways to make it work keeps Charlie constantly on the move, going the extra mile, so to speak. When Bennett announced his upcoming retirement, Charlie actually went several extra miles. He heard about the pension trustee position coming open and immediately started making the rounds to every PBA County Conference for feedback, guidance and ultimately endorsement.
Colligan likened Charlie’ s effort to Phil Murphy’ s expedition pursuing the democratic candidacy for governor. Schwartz conceded that if he heard even one member say somebody else might be a better fit, he wouldn’ t have thrown himself into the fray.
Far from it. The endorsements came fast and fabulous. First on the list was Mercer County Conference Chair Mike Pellegrino.
“ I’ ve known Charlie since he was a young delegate, and he’ s always been one of those guys who is not afraid to get his hands dirty,” Pellegrino endorses.“ When he asked me my thoughts, I basically told him I couldn’ t think of anybody who would be a better fit for that position.”
The next call went to Passaic County Conference Chair Rob Ormezzano, who didn’ t mince words about why Charlie was such a good fit.
“ He is 100 percent true blue and PBA,” Ormezzano advocates.“ He has a lot of people that I believe look up to him, and his dedication to the PBA is what is going to make him an asset in that job.”
Mike Tardio in Monmouth County, Keith Curry in Sussex County and Rodney Furby in Morris County sanctioned with similar aplomb. When word of Charlie’ s candidacy spread to PBA headquarters, validation picked up volume.
“ Charlie’ s one of the smartest guys I know,” recommends First Vice President Pete Andreyev, who as the PBA’ s Pension Benefits Coordinator validates the union’ s representation to PFRS.“ He’ s a motivated guy who knows how to team-build, and he will make sure our members get what they are entitled to.”
After talking with Charlie, several of the county conference chairs called President Colligan, who pinpointed why granting the PBA endorsement was a no-brainer.
“ We have to have somebody who is a strong voice,” Colligan ratifies.“ When we call him, he always has an answer for us, and usually it’ s a good answer.”
The man behind the uniform
Charlie is full of sayings, one of which goes,“ Once you stop learning and stand still, everything passes you by.”
One of his greatest learning events has come through studying at the hand of President Colligan and Executive Vice President Marc Kovar. As a NAPO Vice President, Charlie has been part of the PBA delegation to National Police Week in Washington, D. C. and various annual NAPO conference across the country. Working these events with Colligan and Kovar has provided a crucial lesson about separating fact from fiction, discerning truth from rumors.
“ Before you jump, you have got to do your homework,” Charlie philosophizes.
Another life-shaping learning event came from watching his dad build a business from the ground up. Biamonte saw how this has influenced much of what Charlie brings to every table and sees many of his dad’ s attributes in Charlie.“ Perseverance,” Joe B. observes.“ And vision.” As for the homework influencing Charlie’ s decision to run for