Mayor Speaks at School No. 3

Fort Lee School No. 3’s fourth graders were treated to a visit from Fort Lee’s Mayor Mark Sokolich and Councilman Harvey Sohmer for a discussion on government policies and what it means to be mayor. On Friday the fourth grade class piled into a classroom and sat in a polite mass on the floor, eagerly listening to Sokolich deliver a humble, yet moving presentation about himself and his experiences as mayor.

Each student was given a Deputy Mayor card, which were individually signed by  Sokolich and were to be signed by each student.

“I thought they were checks” cried one student.

“No, they’re not checks,” the mayor said. “You don’t really get many checks in this job.”

The "Deputy Mayor" cards have a pledge on the back, which Sokolich read aloud:

“The bearer of this card has personally agreed and committed to Mayor Mark Sokolich to abide by the laws of the borough of Fort Lee, has vowed to be an honored and responsible citizen, and has agreed to respect their family, friends, and be kind to everyone.”

Councilman Harvey Sohmer addressed the importance of treating the elderly with respect and consideration, pointing out that Fort Lee has a lot of senior citizens.

“Children should help senior citizens,” Sohmer said. “And you kids could do that because you have energy.”

The students were also given individually addressed letters, signed by the mayor, that promised students an open ear at all times. At the bottom of these letters Sokolich provided his email address, and his cell phone number, encouraging kids to call or write him with concerns or ideas.

Sokolich told Patch that he was sure he would have over 40 messages by the end of next week.

Sokolich briefly explained what the council and mayor did for a town, mainly to keep everyone safe and happy through the smart use of funds and manpower.

“We want to make sure that when you look back at your childhood…we want you to say to yourself that Fort Lee was a great place to live and grow up,” he said.

Sokolich also gave a heartfelt speech about the importance of giving back to one’s community. He encouraged the children to consider donating their time and efforts.

“When I was growing up I remember my mom and dad used to say to me all the time --- always remember it’s better to give than receive,” Sokolich explained.

He said mayors don’t necessarily make a lot of money, and that being mayor is his way of giving rather than receiving.

“I do it because it makes my heart feel good,” he said.

Students had been asked to write questions on index cards for the mayor and councilman before the visit. Sokolich did a great job attempting to address most of the questions. The substantiality of the inquiries was impressive; some of the children covered topics like property taxes, re-election and creating more energy-efficient sidewalks.

Some of the more interesting questions were:

“What was your first job?”

“Did you ever get in trouble in school?”

“Who encouraged you to be mayor?”

“If you got a chance to be president, would you leave your job as mayor?”

“When you go on vacation, who will care about the city?”

“I love the questions,” Sokolich told Patch. “It’s incredible that the culture’s changing and even they know now that it’s about money. I think they’re cognizing the fact that you can’t have everything because things cost money and you can’t afford it."

Councilman Sohmer feels that it’s important for the young children to learn about government.

“It’s like a stepping stone for [the kids],” Sohmer said, “You can get them involved in different civic activities.”

During his presentation a casual mention of his dog, a golden retriever named Brooke, threw a wrench in the works. A small tangent of dog-related questions (or just plain adorable “my dog does this!” statements) was soon waylaid by other questions that fell far outside the parameters of “questions about government.”

Two favorite left-field questions of Patch:

“Are you a Pisces?” (The mayor is not)

“Do you have a food taster?” (The mayor does not; although he admitted his dog may wear that title from time to time.)

Principal Robert Kravitz told Patch that the tangents were common and somewhat inevitable.

“This is the first time we went off on the tangent of dogs. Usually they go off into the potholes type of thing. Potholes were big last year,” Kravitz said.

There was also a temporary confusion when Councilman Sohmer told the children that Mayor Sokolich had the ability to “marry people.” Furrowed brows appeared across the room until one brave girl raised her hand to ask: “Now, when you say marry people…you mean…”

It was then explained that Sokolich has the ability to legally bind two people in marriage; he does not himself become husband to hundreds of Fort Lee residents a year.

The students had a blast, inarguably in thanks to Sokolich’s funny, personable delivery. He answered all the kids’ questions candidly, and most impressively—spoke to them like they were adults. He explained financial issues, political snags that mayors often come across and even admitted that he makes mistakes sometimes, just like everyone else.

After the presentation he told Patch he thought it went well. He said he has done this at least 50 or 60 times.

“I do it more for me than I do for them – they give me great energy and it’s a great distraction from the day-to-day job of running Fort Lee,” Sokolich said.

The next school event Mayor Sokolich will be attending is next week’s celebration at School No. 4 for it’s 100th year anniversary.