Far Hills, a five-square-mile borough with fewer than 1,000 residents, has a mayor who strives to get to know every one of them

by Laura D.C. Kolnoski • PHOTOS BY ROBERT NUZZIE

Dr. Paul J. Vallone, mayor of bucolic Far Hills in Somerset County, personifies the maxim “Interaction is the key to understanding.” For Vallone, turning that philosophy into action means more than the quarterly informational newsletter he produces and mails to his constituents. He has also taken the unconventional step of providing his phone number to Far Hill residents so they can contact him directly when the local rumor mill begins to churn.

“People are distrusting of politicians and politics because they really don’t know what’s going on,” he maintained. “I encourage residents to come to me directly instead of listening to rumors and speculation, or to call if they have a positive suggestion on problems.”

The retired physician ran a busy plastic and reconstructive surgery private practice with offices in Dover, Livingston, and Sparta for 25 years before entering public life. He quickly discovered that there is crossover among the skills required for both callings.

“In medical school, you’re taught to be thorough, to analyze, interpret a problem, gather facts, and make a decision in the best interest of the patient,” Vallone said. “Those qualities work hand in hand with politics. As a politician, it’s incumbent upon you to gather the facts, weigh the pros and cons, and decide on the best option.”

Vallone, a native of Astoria, Queens, learned the value of listening some 40 years ago, when he was a medical student in the charter class at the St. George’s University on Grenada in the West Indies The school draws students and faculty from 140 countries.

“I met students and faculty from very diverse cultures, and absorbed early the importance of learning from others,” he said, citing an illustrative example. “After six weeks as mayor, a
100-year-old culvert collapsed during a rainstorm, closing a road. It became a tremendous learning curve and baptism by fire. The police were called, and eventually so were the New Jersey Departments of Transportation and Environmental Protection, architects, and engineers. I’m glad that happened early. Politics is a collaborative effort. In that way, it’s different from medicine. In the operating room, it’s you and the patient. In government, it’s many moving parts.”

By age 13, the young Vallone knew he wanted to become a doctor. While his only direct connection to the health field came from his father, who was in medical sales, he was also influenced by his late mother’s fatal bout with breast cancer. He was inspired to go into plastic and reconstructive surgery; along the way, he attended Holy Cross High School and Fordham University, where he earned a B.S. in biology. After graduating from St. George’s in 1981, he began a residency in general surgery at Brooklyn New York Hospital and was subsequently accepted into a prestigious fellowship program in plastic surgery at the St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston. Through that program he worked at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City and rotated through St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital for hand surgery.

Later, while serving on the board of Dover General Hospital, he began another career: radio host. Vallone started moderating an in-house radio program, It’s Your Health. The show, it turned out, was ahead of its time.

“Back in the 1980s and ’90s, the public wasn’t as informed about their own health, so I reached out to my colleagues in various medical specialties,” he related. “We did a different topic each month for three years on all aspects of health.” A local TV station took notice and began airing the show, during which doctors fielded questions from the public.

“The physicians loved it because it highlighted their specialty,” he said.

He later served at Newton Hospital as both chairman of surgery and VP of the medical staff. Vallone was also chairman of the Plastic Surgery Department at St. Clare’s Hospital in Denville and has emeritus status at Morristown Memorial.

While about 50 percent of his practice was in cosmetic surgery, he also treated patients with burns, cancer, and disfigurements. He estimates that overall he treated 13,000 to 14,000 people during his medical career. “It was a privilege,” he observed. “Every patient presented a new challenge. I wanted to treat them like a family member.”

His own family grew in 1984, when he met his wife, Janis, at St. Barnabas, when her daughter came to the hospital for treatment. The pair married in 1987 and settled in Morris Township. About 20 years ago, they moved to Far Hills.

“Simply put, she is my best friend, leaving her own career to work with me managing the offices for 25 years,” Vallone said. In addition to their daughter and two grandchildren, 19 and 25, they have Lilly, a Bischon-spaniel mix known as the “First Dog of Far Hills.”

After his retirement in 2009, Vallone began attending borough council meetings to learn about and get involved in local issues. His fellow residents began encouraging him to run for office. It was late in the election cycle, so he ran as a write-in candidate. He lost, but was appointed to fill a council vacancy the next year. He then decided to run for mayor— unopposed, because the incumbent didn’t run again. After serving four years, he was reelected in 2014. His current term ends in 2018. “What I like about it is the ability to interact with residents and those I wouldn’t normally come in contact with,” he said. “People are busy today; they don’t know their neighbors as much.”

He’s getting to know those neighbors by tackling the sameissues and challenges faced by most New Jersey municipalities— sharing services and facilities with nearby towns to effect cost savings, managing infrastructure repair and maintenance, balancing providing affordable housing with preserving open space and quality of life, and controlling taxes. The mayor points to regulations, state oversight, and unfunded mandates as issues “that make governing difficult in New Jersey.”

“Far Hills has an educated population with high expectations,” he explained. “We have our own police department; the residents are happy with that. For me, it’s all about the budget. I am averse to debt. People want to keep our rural nature, but there’s also the other side. It’s a big financial challenge.

The borough is perhaps best known for an annual equestrian spectacle, the Far Hills Race Meeting—known in short as The Hunt—which draws competitive riders from around the world, not to mention more than 35,000 revelers. The equine industry has a long history in the area, and is an economic engine that employs farmers, veterinarians, stable workers, trainers, feed and grain providers, and more. In addition to plans to increase equestrian events this summer, the mayor is looking forward to the first year of wagering at The Hunt; he successfully testified in support of the move before the state legislature.

“Much of the equestrian industry has moved to other states,” he said. “We’re working with industry people to say, ‘We want you back.’ ”

The first annual Essex Horse Trials, is now set for June. The event, which is modeled on the Hamptons Classic, will include related events and parties. “I hope it’s the first of many,” Vallone said.

The Mayor also actively promotes the National Golf Association headquarters, located in Far Hills, which houses the United States Golf Association Museum and the Arnold Palmer Center for Golf History. (“It’s a tribute to the history of golf, a great asset, and a destination facility,” he said.) An expansion currently underway at the center will include interactive exhibits and memorabilia.

Although Far Hills was established as a dry town when it was incorporated in 1921, there are “great restaurants” nearby, Vallone said—and no push by the public to change the charter. Through his appointed membership on the Legislative Committee for the State of New Jersey, Vallone meets several times annually with lawmakers to review proposed legislation. Although the votes of the 100 members from both parties on pending legislation are non-binding, Vallone feels taking part, as he explained it, “gives localities a voice and brings an element of common sense to government.”

He is also a member of the New Jersey Conference of Mayors, dealing with day-to-day municipal operations and issues.

“It allows the exchange of ideas; mayors share what works,” he said. “We don’t want to price people out of living in the state. Running a government is no different than running a family. You must plan for expenses and growth.”

A recipient of various medical and outstanding citizen awards, Vallone a member of Cento Amici (100 Friends), a New Jersey organization that provides scholarship assistance to students in need. He previously served on the board of the Resource Center, which assists abused women with intervention and support.

On the home front, he said, the presence of his two grandchildren brings “renewed vitality” to his life, and he calls his wife Janis “the wind beneath my wings. She stood by me throughout it all; I can’t say enough about her.”

Seeking higher state office might also be on the agenda. “Politics in New Jersey has changed dramatically in the last year,” he said. “If the opportunity to move to the next level presented itself, I would entertain it and consider it. I try to make my community a better place.”

Dr. Paul J. Vallone
Mayor, Borough of Far Hills
908.234.0611