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The council scheduled a special meeting this Wednesday to publicly vote on the mayor’s appointment following a closed session with Jaffe.
Experience and skill favored the 17-year captain, who has served as the department’s executive officer – and No. 2 in command under Batelli – Roth said.
“He brings the most extensive command experience and accomplishments to the position of chief of all the candidates evaluated,” the mayor said Sunday night.
Jaffe joined the department as a patrol officer 25 years ago.
He was promoted to detective in 1998 and four years later became captain.
The candidate pool included both Jaffe and fellow Capt. Stuart Blank and the department’s five lieutenants, Roth said.
For seven years, Jaffe was the commanding officer of the UASI (Urban Area Security Initiative) Bergen County Rapid Deployment Team and the Multi Agency and Resource Squad (M.A.R.S.), working with various federal, state, county and municipal law enforcement agencies on high-profile crimes.
He was also the executive officer of the UASI for five years before that.
Jaffe also earned 16 post-graduate credits at the F.B.I. academy in Quantico, Va., obtained his Masters in leadership and supervision from Seton Hall University – where he was a member of the International Honor Society -- and was graduated from Bergen Catholic High School (Class of ’86), where he played football and was involved in the campus ministry.
He received his Bachelor’s degree in finance from Pace University, where he played football (team captain in 1991) and was an assistant coach for a year.
Jaffe has also been a member of the Mahwah Municipal Alliance the past 15 years and has been heavily involved in township schools and the Board of Education. He’s the liaison to Ramapo College and the department’s chief information officer.
“Replacing an outstanding chief like Jim Batelli was a very difficult assignment,” the mayor said. “He served our Township in a distinguished manner for 41 years and the depth and breadth of his experience and knowledge represented a real challenge to attempt replacing.
“A very thorough, comprehensive and fair candidate review process was conducted over a period of several weeks,” Roth said. “Input was also solicited from the council president, the municipal judge and the current chief, among others.
“A total of ten hours was spent reviewing personnel files for all the candidates and no one was excluded on the basis of those files or their resumes,” the mayor said. “Every candidate was interviewed for 1½ to two hours.
“Both captains were called back for an additional one-hour interview.
“I have personally known Capt. Jaffe for over ten years during the time I served on the Township Council,” Roth said. “I believe he is a leader that would be highly competent and trustworthy and that I and future Mayors could rely on him to always represent the best interests of Mahwah in discharging his duties.”
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ALSO SEE: A former Mahwah councilman and EMT captain who co-owns and operates a children's day care center with his wife was released after authorities booked him Friday on charges of possessing child pornography. Charles “Chuck” Jandris, a 53-year-old father of two, surrendered to the Bergen County Prosecutor's Office accompanied by his defense attorney, Brian Neary.
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