Democratic city council hopefuls Roman Kruk and Dariusz Pawluczuk join Mayor Walter Wargacki (center) at the Landmark Restaurant in East Rutherford, NJ during a campaign fundraiser.

Two Poles representing the Democratic Party, Dariusz Pawluczuk and Roman Kruk, are running for city council in Wallington, N.J.

This year's election will be especially important for the residents of Wallington because they will be choosing their mayor. For the past 20 years, Walter Wargacki, who claims to have Polish roots, has held this prominent position. Kruk and Pawluczuk are running on the same ticket as Mayor Wargacki this year.

In previous elections, Wargacki ran unopposed. This time, however, Kenneth Kanter, a Republican and current city councilmember, is running against him.

Although there is still plenty of time until the November elections, the three Democrats – Wargacki, Kruk and Pawluczuk – have already launched their campaign. On June 23 at the Landmark Restaurant on Route 17 S. in East Rutherford, N.J., they met with 70 potential voters at a campaign dinner called "Working for Wallington." The proceeds from the evening, where admission was $250 and included a dinner buffet and an open bar, will support their electoral campaign.

Dariusz Pawluczuk, originally from Bialystok in northeast Poland, has lived in Wallington since 1981. He had never been engaged in politics until he met Wargacki during the Pulaski Parade in Wallington. Pawluczuk is the chairman of the Pulaski Parade Committee. When Wargacki suggested that he run for city council, he decided to take up the challenge.

"Whenever we asked him for assistance, Walter Wargacki has always been very helpful, so this time I decided to listen to him," said Pawluczuk, addressing the guests of the evening at the Landmark Restaurant.

Kruk has lived in Wallington his entire life. He is a little league coach in the town where his children go to school. "I was raised in Wallington. Half of my life the mayor (Wargacki) was always the mayor, so I feel honored now to be running by his side for city council," said Mr. Kruk.

Among the guests at the campaign dinner was Grażyna Torbus, owner of Choice International in Wallington, a real estate and insurance agency. She came to the campaign event to support all of the candidates. "We need to stick together, because this is a Polish town. We should support one another regardless of our political differences," said Torbus, who's a Republican.

Bogdan Chmielewski, also a Republican and a resident of East Rutherford, was another guest at the campaign dinner. "We need to support these candidates because they are from our community," said Chmielewski. "Wallington is the only Polish town in New Jersey, and probably in the entire country, which has a Polish mayor, Polish councilmen and well over 70 percent Polish residents.

"In my opinion, we should support Poles no matter what position they are running for, because we are one of the largest ethnic groups in the United States and one of the wealthiest. Meanwhile we are almost insignificant in politics," Chmielewski pointed out.

The Republican candidates running for the Wallington City Council this election are Kevin M. O'Reailly and Izabela Bacza.