Ian Grodman, chair of the Maplewood Democratic Committee, local attorney and longtime Maplewood resident, was unanimously selected as the newest Maplewood Township Committee member Tuesday night.
Grodman will fill the remaining three and a half months of the term of Marlon K. Brownlee, who resigned in August. The four current members of the TC — Mayor Vic DeLuca, Deputy Mayor Nancy Adams, India Larrier and Greg Lembrich — chose Grodman out of three candidates previously selected by the MDC.
Grodman was sworn in and immediately took his seat on the committee. “I’m quite excited about the opportunity to be doing this,” he said. He noted that he would like to focus on two key issues in his brief tenure: advancing public art on Springfield Avenue and working on senior services in town.
Grodman previously served on the TC roughly a decade ago. A 21-year Maplewood resident, he and his wife have two children. He also has served on the boards of the Community Coalition on Race, the Achieve Foundation, the Library Foundation and on the Seth Boyden PTA.
The other two candidates were Amy Jo Curran and Garnet Hall. Each was interviewed by the TC in executive session before the open meeting; each then spoke for a few minutes to introduce themselves to the public before the TC announced its decision.
DeLuca praised the qualifications of the three, noting that it was a “blessing to have so many people interested.”
A 15-year Maplewood resident, Curran is director of Secondary School Counseling for Philip’s Academy in Newark. She was formerly executive director of the HK Fund in Maplewood.
Hall is vice chair of the MDC. She is active in the Maplewood community and has worked on many Democratic campaigns.
Grodman will serve through December 31. He will step down as MDC chair during his tenure on the Township Committee.
Two candidates, Republican Mike Summersgill and Democrat Frank McGehee, will run for Brownlee’s seat in November.
