Team Irvington Strong Launches Re-Election Push After Packed Nanina’s Fundraiser

IRVINGTON, N.J. – Feb. 19, 2026 – Team Irvington Strong announced its official re-election campaign for Mayor Tony Vauss and Council Members At-Large Darlene Brown, Anthony A. Vauss Jr., and Dr. Charnette Frederic ahead of the May 12, 2026 municipal election, following a standing-room fundraiser held Feb. 18th at Nanina’s in the Park. Campaign officials described the turnout as a broad-based, community-driven mobilization effort—an unmistakable display of incumbent strength and widespread constituent investment.

The campaign also stated that Mayor Vauss and Team Irvington Strong were the first candidates certified to run for office in Irvington’s 2026 cycle—submitting more than the required petition signatures in rapid time as a signal of early organization and energized grassroots support.

The slate’s announcement is anchored in a simple argument: proven leadership under pressure—and unfinished work that requires steady hands.

“Irvington has been tested,” Mayor Vauss said. “We stayed steady, we delivered results, and we’re running because the work isn’t finished. Our mission is simple: keep Irvington safer, stronger, and moving forward—block by block, family by family.”

Record of Results: What Irvington Achieved

Public Safety Breakthrough:

Irvington recorded ONE homicide in all of 2025, a benchmark the campaign described as one of the most dramatic public-safety turnarounds in modern New Jersey municipal history—capping multiple historically low-homicide years cited by the campaign:

• 2016: 4
• 2018: 5
• 2019: 6
• 2023: 6
• 2024: 5
• 2025: 1

“This didn’t happen by accident,” Vauss said. “We built strategy, partnerships, and trust. One life lost is still one too many—but disciplined, community-centered leadership saves lives.”

Visible Neighborhood Progress:

The campaign cited ongoing quality-of-life initiatives focused on practical improvements residents can see every day, including:

• Cleaner blocks and safer public spaces
• Neighborhood stabilization and property accountability efforts
• Infrastructure upgrades designed to strengthen confidence and consistency across wards

Crisis Response When Families Needed It:

During late-2025 SNAP delays and rising food insecurity, the campaign said Irvington mobilized rapidly—coordinating emergency food distribution and building a long-term support network connecting public agencies and community partners.

Expanded Family and Senior Programming:

The campaign said community programming expanded not as “extras,” but as community infrastructure—creating safe spaces for children, reducing isolation, and strengthening connection for seniors and families.

Why Now: A Campaign Built for the Moment

Campaign leaders said the re-election bid is not a reset—it is a continuation of a governing model defined by:

• Operational discipline and measurable execution
• Transparent communication and visible leadership
• Solutions-first service delivery that holds up in real-world pressure

“Residents don’t need leaders who only show up when it’s easy,” said Councilwoman Darlene Brown. “They need leaders who stay calm under pressure, protect what matters, and get results. That’s what we’ve done—and that’s what we’re going to keep doing.”

Councilman Anthony Vauss Jr. added: “People want real problem-solvers—leaders who listen, adjust, and execute. This campaign is about keeping momentum and delivering the next phase of progress.”

Dr. Charnette Frederic said: “Irvington’s strength is its diversity and its resilience. Our work is about making government responsive, inclusive, and grounded in real solutions that improve daily life.”

CRISIS RESPONSE: WHEN SNAP DELAYED, IRVINGTON DIDN’T WAIT

In late 2025, when federal SNAP delays hit households across New Jersey, the campaign said Irvington moved like a municipality in emergency mode—because leadership treated hunger for what it is: a crisis, not a talking point.

What the campaign says Irvington did under Mayor Vauss:

• Coordinated emergency food distribution on Nov. 13 at the D. Bilal Beasley Community Center
• Partnered with Essex County leadership, healthcare networks, regional food providers, nonprofits, and faith institutions
• Built a long-term structure: the Irvington Community Food Response Coalition
• Mobilized block captains, volunteers, schools, and municipal departments to identify “silent” food insecurity
• Prioritized seniors with deliveries and direct outreach

“When families were worried about food on the table, we didn’t hold press conferences—we opened distribution sites,” Vauss said. “Leadership means showing up in person and solving the problem in real time.”

Community Programming as Infrastructure

While responding to economic stress, the campaign said Irvington expanded signature community programming as part of stability-building—pride, safety, unity.

Highlighted 2025 initiatives included:

• “Breakfast for Dinner” (IHOP Holiday Giveback – Dec. 11, 2025): hundreds served warm meals during holiday hardship
• Christmas Light Spectacular (Dec. 4, 2025): thousands gathered at Civic Square for choirs, holiday train, outdoor ice rink, and gift distribution
• Safe Halloween (Oct. 31, 2025): nearly 3,000 children attended, with supervised programming and positive public safety engagement

“Safe spaces for children, dignity for seniors, stability for families—that’s not fluff,” Brown said. “That’s governance. When people feel pride, they protect what they love.”

IRVINGTON’S VINDICATION

Following an independent review referenced by campaign officials regarding the OSC opioid report, the campaign said the conversation shifted from accusation to process—and to questions Irvington residents and municipal observers now want answered.

“We chose transparency and lawful review over political theater,” Vauss said. “We will always choose process over panic.”

“When scrutiny came, we didn’t fold,” Vauss Jr. said. “We leaned into facts, documentation, and accountability. That’s how you protect a community’s credibility—and its future.”

“Accountability must apply to everyone—especially institutions with power,” Frederic said. “Transparency cannot be selective. Irvington stood firm because we believe in evidence, fairness, and due process.”

A Show of Force. A Show of Faith. Team Irvington Strong Ignites Re-Election Momentum at Packed Fundraiser

Campaign officials said the Feb. 18 Nanina’s fundraiser didn’t feel like a routine political stop—it felt like a community declaration.

Not Just Incumbents. Tested Leaders.

They chose process over panic.
Stability over noise.
Measured action over political theater.

Community trust.

The crowd reflected what the campaign called a people-powered coalition—cross-generational, cross-neighborhood, and broad-based—rooted in residents who have watched leadership perform up close.

One supporter captured the mood in a sentence:
“They’ve been tested. And they stayed steady.”

That steadiness, campaign officials said, has become the slate’s quiet strength heading into May.

“Stand for what you believe in,” Mayor Vauss told supporters. “For a brighter future, together we stand.”

The Story Behind the Slate

Candidate Biographies

• Mayor Tony Vauss – Mayor since 2014 and a lifelong public servant whose administration emphasizes public safety gains, responsive services, and visible neighborhood investment.
• Councilwoman Darlene Brown (At-Large) – Council Member At-Large and a public-safety professional whose work, the campaign says, is grounded in protecting children, strengthening neighborhoods, and leading calmly under pressure.
• Councilman Anthony Vauss Jr. (At-Large) – Council Member At-Large described by the campaign as a next-generation operator focused on execution, modernized municipal systems, and resident-first accountability.
• Dr. Charnette Frederic (At-Large) – Council Member At-Large and scientist-advocate, highlighted by the campaign for evidence-based thinking, inclusion-focused leadership, and community mobilization.

A Mayor’s Health Journey Sparks a Townwide Awakening as Irvington Enters 2026

As Irvington turned from 2025 to 2026, Mayor Vauss shared something rare in public life: not a slogan—a personal reckoning.

A routine doctor’s visit became a wake-up call. His diabetes required attention—not someday, not eventually, but now. Instead of hiding it, the Mayor leaned in, changed his habits, and made a choice that many residents recognized immediately: the hard choice.

Over the course of a year, the Mayor shared that he lost 90 pounds—and brought his A1c to 5.5% now at 4.9%, emphasizing he was not sharing his story for praise, but for possibility. His message to residents was simple: get tested, ask questions, take control—because your health is worth it.

What followed, the campaign says, was bigger than weight loss: a ripple effect. Conversations started in barbershops, churches, senior buildings, school events, and on sidewalks—neighbors encouraging neighbors, families talking about prevention, and residents seeing a leader model discipline instead of just demanding it.

And that spirit—personal, present, human—is how supporters describe Mayor Vauss’ leadership more broadly. The campaign noted that the Mayor has long made a point each year of opening his personal home to residents and community supporters to gather and celebrate, not as politics, but as relationship—people breaking bread, sharing stories, and strengthening the bonds that make a town feel like family. Campaign officials said those bonds have mattered in every hard moment Irvington has faced: when safety had to be rebuilt, when food insecurity surged, when pressure hit, and when unity mattered more than noise.

In Irvington, the campaign says, leadership has not been a distance.
It has been a presence.

Mayor’s Message to Supporters and Residents

“I really appreciate everyone who came out to support our fundraiser,” Mayor Vauss said. “And I look forward to seeing everybody at our Time to Get Your Game On campaign kickoff—where every move counts and every victory matters.”

Supporters and residents: Join us for the “Game On” Campaign Kickoff

• Date/Time: March 5, 2026 – 5:30 p.m.
• Location: 60–70 Howard Street, Irvington, NJ
• Special invited guests: Gov. Mikie Sherrill, New Jersey Democratic State Chairman Leroy J. Jones, and Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr.
• Hosted by: Lenny Green (107.5 WBLS)
• Music by: DJ Antoine Qua (107.5 WBLS)
• Special guest performance: Bells 2.0
• Also expected: Elected officials from throughout Essex County, Union County, and across New Jersey—in what campaign officials describe as an endorsement celebration like never seen before.

Election Information

Election Day: May 12, 2026
Team Irvington Strong said additional announcements—including policy priorities, neighborhood engagement events, and volunteer opportunities—will be released in the coming weeks.

About Team Irvington Strong

Team Irvington Strong is the re-election campaign of Mayor Tony Vauss and Council Members At-Large Darlene Brown, Anthony Vauss Jr., and Dr. Charnette Frederic. The slate’s platform focuses on public safety, responsive services, equity across neighborhoods, crisis preparedness, community partnership, and transparent, accountable government.

Mayor Tony Vauss: Your Voice. Your Advocate. Your Mayor.
For a Brighter Future, Together We Stand – Vote Team Irvington Strong.