Eamon Harbord, Patch Staff

Prior to coming to Patch, I was with North Jersey Media Group, covering both Oradell and River Edge with the Town News for the past three years.

Born and raised in Northern New Jersey, I left the Garden State to attend Arcadia University in Pennsylvania, just minutes outside of Philadelphia. While at Arcadia, I was a staff writer and photography editor for the school newspaper, The Tower along with working as a staff intern for the Germantown Courier and Mt. Airy Times.

In my spare time, I can be found out jogging with my dogs or participating as a fencer of the Society of Creative Anachronism (SCA).

Your Beliefs<br>At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for you to inject your beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that your beliefs are on the record will cause you to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know.

Politics

How would you describe your political beliefs?

Independent that votes for candidates and issues. I believe John Quincy Adams said it best with, &#34;Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost.&#34;

Religion

How religious would you say you are? Casual, observant, devout, non-religious?

Atheist, but I am respectful of others&#39; beliefs so long as they are not pushed on me.

<br>Local Hot Button Issues

What do you think are the most important issues facing the community?

The budgets for the municipalities and school districts will be the biggest challenge that residents will face, not only this year but for the next several years. Also the future downtown development projects in River Edge along with the ongoing land use issues in Oradell will be critical for the benefit of each town.