The following remarks were made by Nancy Adams, upon the swearing-in to her third term on the Maplewood Township Committee on January 1 at the 2022 Reorganization Meeting.
Nancy Adams is sworn in for her third term on the Maplewood Township Committee
Thank you to the voters of Maplewood for giving me a third term in office as a member of the Township Committee. I’ve been honored to be the top vote-getter in all three of my campaigns for Township Committee and that support humbles me and inspires me to continue to work for the best interests of the community.
I have served with integrity and honesty for the past 6 years and I pledge to continue to do so. Mine has proven to be an independent and therefore important voice at the table, as was publicly evidenced by my solo stance on the bond ordinance for artificial turf this past summer. The results of the referendum that followed showed my stance was representative of a substantial majority of our residents. I will continue to be outspoken and dedicated to thoughtful deliberations and decisions that are based on facts combined with my experience and expertise to make sure we don’t jump into anything until careful and complete consideration has been given, whatever the topic.
My over 32 years of living in Maplewood and advocating for causes here allows me to bring an important historical perspective to discussions, and I have a proven track record during my first two terms of taking on topics and issues that are not necessarily politically expedient. I have been counseled that I should promote myself more to the public, that I should tout all that I do on behalf of the residents of Maplewood and how much my experience and history here aids in decisions we make, but that’s not me and not how I think. I believe we should lead and govern without being a daily presence in the lives of our residents. If Donald Trump taught us anything, it is that people don’t want their elected leaders in their faces every day; Joe Biden has shown us that it’s not necessary to do so to be effective.
Congratulations to my running mate, Jamaine Cripe. It was such a pleasure getting to know you during our campaign and I’m so excited to have another woman join me on the Township Committee; and another woman who is not afraid to speak her mind too. I have already found you to be thoughtful and independent in your consideration of issues and look forward to hashing through them together as they come before us on the Township Committee. As you and I have discussed, we often talk in this town of the importance of representation, but women have and continue to be under-represented at this table and in Maplewood leadership. All children, especially girls, need to see more women representing them in leadership roles and I know you join me in encouraging more women to run for office and more men to stand up for women!
I am looking forward to continuing to work with our fellow members of the Township Committee, Vic, Frank and Dean. And I want to give a shout-out to my former running mate, Greg Lembrich, who I will very much miss on the Township Committee. Our mutual respect for each other and each other’s positions on matters made working with you a pleasure. Thank you all for your dedicated service to our community.
Thank you to our amazing township team too! The professionalism and hard work of everyone who works for the township in all departments lead by our talented and experienced department heads, chiefs, clerk, township attorney and administrator make governing a pleasure. All of you are responsive to the elected officials and your leadership and counsel is something I very much value.
Thank you to the Maplewood Democratic Committee for your confidence in me with your enthusiastic endorsement of me as one of your Democratic candidates and for the District Leaders’ help during the campaign.
Thank you to my kids, Maggie, Thomas, Michael, Kristin and Oscar, who have all supported me in various ways over these past 6 years often as a sounding board from far away. Thank you to my best friend and confidant, my husband Sal Renda for your love and your own personal sacrifices that enable me to serve.
Lastly, I want to thank my parents, George and Carmella Adams, who are no longer with us but who instilled in me the importance of hard work, frank talk and integrity. I miss them every day.
The community can count on me to give honest and thoughtful deliberation to issues before me and to represent them that way. I commend this governing body for being responsive to the community, cautious with our actions regarding the pandemic, and careful with decisions we have made and I pledge to continue to do the same. Thank you and Happy New Year!
