The Village Green has offered each of the three candidates vying for two spots in the June 2 Democratic Primary for Maplewood Township Committee to submit a “Candidate’s Statement.” Here is Nancy Adam‘s submission.
I love Maplewood. I’ve loved it since the first day I saw it in 1989. I value the neighborhoods, the interesting and diverse housing stock, the cute village perfectly placed in the center of the town, the variety of business districts, the walkability, and especially the people… who are smart, educated, open-minded, accepting and diverse. The diversity is key to our wonderful town and is the reason I’ve made Maplewood my home for almost 26 years and have raised 5 children here.
While I’ve enjoyed my community involvement: restarting theater at Tuscan School, the PTA, Maplewood/South Orange League of Women Voters, founding College Hill Neighborhood Association and launching the Springfield Avenue Partnership, helping with the groundwork for starting the jitney program, serving on the Maplewood Planning Board, and helping in other community activities; I want to be able to bring my talents to the Governing Body where the ultimate decisions that affect our town happen.
I have been working in the field of downtown revitalization and management for 20 years. Within this field I’ve worked extensively in areas of Marketing, Branding and Advertising, Event Planning and Production, Public and Government Relations, Business Recruitment and Retention, Public Improvement Projects, Redevelopment, Downtown Maintenance, Façade Improvements, Volunteer Management, Budget Development and Management, Nonprofit Organization, Board Management, working with municipal departments, and more. The field I’m in covers vast and diverse areas of work because all of it needs to be done to successfully and completely revitalize and manage downtown business districts.
I’ve led revitalization efforts in downtown South Orange, West Orange, Newark, and most recently Red Bank. During my career, I constantly sought out education and certifications in fields that would improve my skills for my work: New Jersey Real Estate License, Certification in Downtown Management by the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Main Street Program, Certification in Context Sensitive Design, countless seminars in my field at conferences from League of Municipalities to the International Downtown Association to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC.) I sit on the Board of Downtown New Jersey and have participated on panels at its conferences on issues facing downtowns across the state, downtown management, and governmental issues.
This work makes me uniquely qualified for a seat on the Maplewood Township Committee. I will bring that experience to all decisions that come before me as a representative on the governing body. My experience in the League of Women Voters trained me to think as objectively as possible and to consider all sides of an issue before making a decision. My personal makeup and my track record in Maplewood and in my work is that I am a doer. When I see a problem, I work for a solution. Whether that’s reporting a problem to the town authorities or, when that’s not enough, organizing people to help fix the problem. I will do the same if elected to serve Maplewood on the Township Committee. I want to work to keep Maplewood a diverse community that listens to the needs of every resident from small children to seniors; and I ask for your vote on Tuesday, June 2.
