Stefania Colosimo Sztybel is a Director of Financial Planning and Analysis at a private equity firm and a CPA, bringing nearly two decades of financial leadership to everything she does. She began her career at Deloitte, where she built a foundation in audit and accounting that has guided her professional life ever since.

She knows how to read a budget, ask the hard questions, and make decisions with real, long-term consequences. These are exactly the skills Mountainside needs on its Borough Council.

Beyond her corporate career, Stefania is an entrepreneur who owns and manages investment properties and runs her own interior design business. She has built things, managed complexity, and followed through. She does not just bring ideas to the table. She executes them.

Stefania is not a newcomer to public service. She grew up watching her mother serve as the longest-tenured councilwoman in their hometown, and that example of quiet, committed service never left her.

A Rutgers University graduate with honors, double majoring in Accounting and Italian, Phi Beta Kappa, Stefania combines intellectual rigor with genuine community investment. She is an active volunteer, and a proud eight-year Mountainside resident raising her family here.

Stefania is running for Borough Council to offer the town she loves a dedicated public servant who will do the work, ask the right questions, and show up every time.

One of the things I have come to understand living here is that Mountainside is a town where you can feel alone without ever meaning to. It is not a walking town. You do not bump into neighbors naturally, and because of that, connection has to be intentional. Too many residents have no idea what is happening inside Borough Hall — what is being decided, what is being spent, and why.

Every resident deserves to feel seen by their local government and connected to the community around them. That starts with transparency, communication, and creating the kinds of experiences that bring neighbors together.

That means investing in community events like farmers markets, play streets for kids, and neighborhood bonfires — the moments that turn a town into a community, accessible to every resident at every stage of life.

That is the Mountainside I want my children to grow up in. That is the Mountainside worth moving forward.

When I was a little girl, I used to stand in my aunt's backyard in Mountainside and stare at the house next door. I didn't just admire it. I dreamed that one day I would live in that house, in that town, and raise my family there. Decades later, that is exactly what happened. I live in that house today, with my husband Ryan and our two kids, Sebastian and Serafina. Dreams do actually come true.

Service has always been part of my life, but not in a theoretical way. My late mother was the longest-serving councilwoman in my hometown. I grew up watching what that actually looked like behind the scenes. The late nights. The trade-offs. The constant pull between family and community. She didn't do it for recognition. She did it because she believed that if you live somewhere, you take responsibility for it. That always stuck with me.

I don't shy away from hard work. I never have. I was raised by my Italian immigrant parents who taught me to work hard, show up, and take care of the people around me. Obstacles don't stop me, they sharpen me. So if I hit a wall, I don't stop, I figure out how to get over it, around it, or through it. Mountainside deserves someone with that kind of tenacity in its corner. Because the things worth fighting for are never easy, but this town is worth every bit of it.

At home, I'm lucky to have my husband Ryan by my side, not just as a partner, but as someone equally invested in this community. Ryan coaches our son Sebastian's baseball team and on Aces Red (which he swears will win it all this year). Sebastian (7) is in first grade at Beechwood School. Serafina (5) will be joining the Mountainside school family next year, which we cannot wait for.

This town is not just where we live. It is where we are building our life. I'm running alongside Robert Barletta because this town has given us so much, and now we have the privilege of moving Mountainside forward together, for our family and yours.

Robert Barletta brings more than two decades of experience in communications, public affairs, and strategy as a senior executive at Marino, an award-winning marketing agency in Manhattan. That work has trained him to listen closely, cut through noise, and help people and organizations solve problems that often look more complicated than they really are.

He knows how to bring people together around practical solutions and get things done — exactly the kind of thinking Mountainside needs on its Borough Council.

Robert's path runs through public service at every level. He served as Chief of Staff to Assemblyman Reed Gusciora, now Mayor of Trenton, managing legislative priorities, constituent concerns, and day-to-day problem solving in a fast-moving public environment. Earlier, he worked with former Mercer County Commissioner Jim McManimon, where he learned the importance of local government that actually responds to the needs of residents.

A graduate of The College of New Jersey, Robert also earned a master's degree from the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University. He is a first-generation Italian American who grew up with a strong belief in hard work, responsibility, and showing up for others.

I'm driven by a simple idea: Mountainside works best when practical people step up with fresh ideas, common sense, and a willingness to get things done. There are real, everyday quality-of-life improvements that have been talked about for too long without action. I want to change that.

That starts with the basics. Bringing back bulk pick-up so residents aren't left managing oversized items on their own. Restoring the ice cream truck — a beloved piece of Mountainside's character that kids and families look forward to every summer. These are not big-ticket items. They are the small things that tell residents their town is paying attention.

But I also believe in thinking bigger about what Mountainside can be. More programming, more community events, and better use of our shared spaces so that every resident — whether you have young kids, teenagers, or an empty nest — feels like this town is working for you.

Mountainside is already a great town. I want to make sure it feels that way for everyone who calls it home.

My real education in community comes from lived experience, not just institutions. It's in the early mornings at the New Providence Road bus stop, commuting into New York City with the same familiar faces, people juggling work, family, weather, and schedules, all trying to get where they need to go. Over time, that routine becomes its own kind of community: shared nods, quick conversations, and mutual respect for people who show up every day.

It's on the soccer fields, too. I'm a longtime volunteer coach in Mountainside, from my early days with PAL to the Recreation Department and the Mountainside Football Club, working with dozens upon dozens of local kids, including my own sons. It's been a truly rewarding experience watching kids grow, struggle, improve, win, lose, and ultimately learn how to be part of something bigger than themselves.

That sense of commitment is deeply personal. I'm a first-generation Italian American who grew up with a strong belief in hard work, responsibility, and showing up for others — values that shape how I approach community life and local government.

I've been married to my wife, Kristen, since 2008, and together we're raising two sons — Luca (14) and Matteo (11), both students at Deerfield School and soon Governor Livingston — along with our Bernedoodle, Oliver.

I'm running alongside Stefania Colosimo because this town deserves people who will show up, do the work, and never stop pushing for better — for every family, at every stage of life.