Events will be posted here as they are scheduled. Sign up in the Get Involved section to be notified of upcoming events.

Contracts can be amended after public posting meaning the terms residents reviewed on Friday may not match the document voted on Monday. By the time most people find out, it's already done.

Jackie's Fix: No contract comes before council without final documentation locked 72 hours in advance. No late additions. No last-minute amendments.

When companies doing business with West Orange make political donations to the officials approving their contracts, that information is technically available. But it's not attached to the contract, and most residents will never see it.

Jackie's Fix: Every professional service contract must include mandatory disclosure of political contributions attached to the contract, visible to every resident before the vote.

West Orange has no structured long-term budget plan. Major agreements move forward without a complete picture of total cost over the life of the deal including bonds, tax revenue foregone, and what happens if something goes wrong.

Jackie's Fix: Every major agreement must show the full cost over the life of the deal, who benefits financially, and what happens if things go wrong.

West Orange paid $12.5 million to settle litigation and reacquire the Prism property, then assumed all remaining environmental liabilities with no public accounting of what they would cost taxpayers. The Matrix agreement moved forward before a studio partner was even identified. Neither deal included publicly disclosed performance standards or exit terms that residents could evaluate before the vote.

Read more: Edison Village Redevelopment  ·  Movie Studio Proposal Vote

Jackie's Fix: Clear benchmarks, regular check-ins, and real exit clauses mean West Orange always has leverage and a way out.

The Mayor's office is not required to deliver regular public reports to the full council on contracts, spending, or major projects. Council members have had to ask questions on the fly during public meetings without advance notice of what's on the agenda.

Read more: Mayor & Council Standoff Over Town Attorney

Jackie's Fix: Introduce a formal requirement for monthly or quarterly public reports from the administration to the full council delivered in advance, on the record.

In 2021, 45 families were evacuated after a rockslide on Northfield Avenue. The town updated its steep slope ordinance in response. Less than a mile away, a new developer is now seeking nine variances three from that same ordinance on the same type of slope.

Jackie's Fix: Push to strengthen West Orange's steep slope and tree ordinances so the standards are clear, specific, and hard to waive, while advocating for consistent enforcement.

No contract comes before council without full public documentation at least 72 hours in advance. Every agreement gets a plain English summary written for residents, not lawyers and must disclose any political donations from the company receiving the contract.

Commitments

• 72-hour public documentation rule no exceptions
• Plain English summaries required on every contract
• Political contribution disclosures mandatory

Every major agreement must show the full cost over the life of the deal, who benefits financially, and what happens if things go wrong. Clear benchmarks, regular check-ins, and real exit clauses mean West Orange always has leverage and a way out.

Commitments

• Full lifecycle cost disclosure required
• Performance benchmarks built into every contract
• Real exit clauses not just on paper

The council and the public should never be the last to know what the administration is doing. Monthly or quarterly public reports, plus a formal written Q&A process before every vote, mean decisions get made in the open not in back channels.

Commitments

• Monthly/quarterly public administration reports
• Formal written Q&A process before every vote
• No more decisions made in back channels

West Orange already has rules on the books to protect trees, steep slopes, and neighborhoods from flooding and runoff they just aren't always enforced. Jackie will make sure developers can't quietly carve out exceptions to the rules that keep our neighborhoods safe.

Commitments

• Enforce tree ordinances and steep slope regulations consistently
• Ensure newly planted trees are properly maintained to survive long-term
• Require full environmental impact disclosure before any major development is approved
• Explore solar on municipal properties and community solar programs

Jacqueline “Jackie” Hendy has called West Orange home for 18 years. She has lived in the Valley, Gregory, and Hazel communities, and as a local real estate business owner, she has helped families buy and sell homes across nearly every neighborhood in town, giving her a ground-level understanding of the rich diversity of our town, what makes each neighborhood unique, and the different needs of every part of town.

Across every chapter of her career from the stage to the boardroom to the closing table Jackie has worked at the intersection of collaboration, process, and execution: bringing people together around a shared goal, building the structure to get there, and seeing it through to something real.

That career spans Broadway and television, contract and legal document work for major international law firms, and years of parent advocacy, including navigating IEPs and special services. During the pandemic, she organized a virtual drama program for local students, coordinating with other parents in the creative arts to give kids connection and community when both were in short supply. She also volunteers regularly with local organizations that support neighbors facing food insecurity.

Jackie is running because West Orange deserves higher standards for process, oversight, and leadership. She brings the same discipline and accountability to public service that she has demanded of herself in every room she's worked in.