Editor’s note: Maplewood Township Committee member Greg Lembrich participated in his last TC meeting on December 21. Lembrich served a total of two terms before deciding he would not seek re-election. The following are remarks he made at the meeting.
My parents taught me, and more importantly showed me, from a young age that in any group or community it’s usually about 10 percent of the people who do about 90 percent of the work, and you should be one of those 10 percent.
I sit here tonight with gratitude for the opportunity to serve the Maplewood community for the past six years. And while I take pride in many of the things we have accomplished over that time, there is also a sense of disappointment that I have not managed to do all that I had set out to get done and guilt for the work left incomplete.
As a history major in college, I admired the presidency of James K. Polk, who came into office with a very specific platform, accomplished those limited goals in one term, and then left office. But as I have gotten older, I have come more to admire the leaders whose ambitions were too big to realistically be accomplished in their terms, or even their lifetimes. John Kennedy, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton. While I am certainly no fan of politicians who overpromise and underdeliver, I think we need to elect leaders who believe in government, in people, and what we can accomplish together. Balancing our aspirations with reality, but not allowing today’s practicalities to limit our vision for a better future.
So, over the past few days, I have tried to take a step back to reflect on what we have accomplished as a Township Committee, and as a Township, to make our community better over the past 6 years. Together. And it is so much, but I would like tonight to highlight just 5 that truly stand out to me.
Number 1. We have reformed the culture of the Maplewood Police Department. The work that I have been most proud of during my service has been my tenure as Chair of the Public Safety Committee for the past 5 years, and particularly the significant steps we have taken to address the issues in our Police Department that became clear from the incidents of July 5, 2016.
We replaced the leadership of the Department, appointing an outstanding new Chief (more on that later) and creating the Deputy Chief position, which is held by the highest ranking African-American officer in our Department’s history, Al Sally, whose swearing-in as Chief of the Department I hope to attend someday.
We have greatly Increased and improved training of our officers, particularly in the areas of anti-bias, crowd control, de-escalation, and alternatives to the use of force. We have made significant progress in the process of restoring confidence and rebuilding trust with community, including more engagement with residents and groups through the creation of the Department’s Community Services Bureau, and also outreach programs such as open gyms and restoration of the junior police academy.
We created a new Community Board on Police, the first of its kind in a New Jersey suburban community, and appointed a talented and dedicated group of residents who have reviewed data and procedures, making recommendations for new policies and changes to existing ones in our Department. The Board has provided research and helped to develop best practices, as well as brought community feedback to the Police Department.
Working with our Engineering and Department of Public Works, the Police Departments has taken important measures to increase pedestrian and traffic safety in our town. We have improved traffic flow (particularly around our schools), put up new and improved signage, implemented design changes to calm traffic in areas where speeding is a problem, and hired additional crossing guards for busy intersections. We have implemented programs to help drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians learn to be safer, be aware, and share the road.
We also created a new dedicated Traffic Unit in the Police Department, which has led to a significant increase in enforcement, traffic patrols, and radar details, particularly focused on key areas where driver and pedestrian safety is an issue.
Despite all of the challenges and transitions, we have made great strides to reduce crime in our town, particularly violent crime over the past several years. And we’ve done so with a more diverse police force throughout the ranks that better reflects our community, and with reduced overtime producing savings for taxpayers.
I am also glad that we have had the chance to recognize some of the acts of bravery and other instances where our police officers have gone above and beyond to help those in our community in their moments of greatest need. Thanks to them, July 5 won’t stand out as the defining moment for the Maplewood Police in my memory. I’ll remember moments like Officers Jimmy DeFazio and Rob Smith running into a burning home and helping to evacuate people through smoke and flames because they arrived a few minutes before the Fire Department, putting their own lives in danger to save residents.
Number 2, we have greatly expanded and improved our community’s recreational and cultural programs and facilities. I take great pride in the role that I have been able to play as an elected official to help Maplewood become not just safer for everyone, but more fun for everyone. The addition of the new basketball court facility at DeHart Park brought a much needed resource to athletes, and I know that the spray park coming soon to Maplecrest Park will be a tremendous addition for our families.
The Township has also greatly expanded our sports and fitness offerings for all ages over the past few years. For example, we have added programs such as self defense classes, drumming, and goat yoga. Our summer kids camp is also much improved. Prior to the pandemic, The Woodland became a centerpiece of our community’s social, cultural, and artistic life. It is a beautiful building with bustling energy in which Maplewood can take great pride, and I look forward to seeing it filled again soon.
And let’s not forget our Seniors. Through the purchase and renovation of 106 Burnett Avenue, we created a wonderful senior citizen center that allows us to offer more programming and activities for seniors without conflicting or competing for space with other events at DeHart Community Center. The building also provides a great place for seniors to just drop in and engage with one another.
Our community swimming pool was bleeding members and money for years, losing lots of both on an annual basis. But this has been stabilized on both fronts thanks to greater attention by our staff and volunteer Pool Advisory Committee. Thanks to expanded programming and providing a better member experience, membership has stabilized. Despite the pandemic and other challenges, we were able to open our pool for each of the last two summers, and also finally replace our filtration system, which should give our facility improved water quality and reliability for years to come. These improvements were desperately needed to preserve this gem in our town. And, after my service as a Township Committee member and Pool Committee liaison is complete, I plan to stay involved with the pool, not only as a member, but also with a group of residents to start Friends of the Maplewood Pool, a 501(c)(3) to help raise tax deductible funds to help defray the cost of pool memberships for community members who cannot afford them (expanded on the Rec Department’s Pool Pals program) and also raise money for longer-term projects at the pool such as locker room improvements.
Number 3, we have made local government more transparent and accessible. I have been proud to be part of the most responsive Township Committee in history, placing a high priority on communication, transparency, and accountability. Prior to the pandemic, my colleagues and I were constantly out in the community, attending events, community meetings, and neighborhood gatherings, interacting with residents, sharing information, and listening to concerns and ideas. During the pandemic, we have largely pivoted to online platforms such as Zoom, but public attendance at many of our meetings has only increased.
I think most of us took a turn as Chair of the Communications Committee over the past several years, and we have all done our part to narrow the distance between our residents and their local government and elected officials. We have launched a new Township website, which made it much easier for residents to find information and also to submit forms and payments online. We also broadly increased our use of social media and email alerts to distribute information and build awareness.
We have created new senior and youth advisory committees to incorporate generational diversity into Township planning and decisionmaking. We also made intentional efforts to appoint a larger, broader, and more diverse range of residents to town boards and committees, and implemented a process that has made it easier for residents to be involved.
Number 4, we have supported our schools and our students. Even though the Township Committee operates separately from the Board of Education from both a budgetary and governance standpoint, we have often partnered together (along with our colleagues in South Orange) over the past several years on important projects and initiatives for our community.
For a few years, we restored the practice of monthly meetings between town leaders of Maplewood and South Orange, the Superintendent, and BOE members. This renewed commitment to partnership helped to improve relationships and our ability to plan strategically and work together.
We jointly created the Field Trust, a collaborative effort to promote long-term strategic improvement of our athletic fields and facilities. We successfully lobbied for substantially increased state aid year after year.
This partnership, I believe, was also critical in the successful development and community acceptance of the Long Range Facilities Plan to give our school buildings the infrastructure overhaul they so desperately need, and ultimately the passing the associated $160M bond by the Board of School Estimate, the most money I have ever spent and the least public criticism over a tax increase I have ever heard.
I must not that it has been discouraging that this practice of regular meetings among the elected officials of the three bodies has fallen off in recent years after the LRFP bond was passed. I hope that it can be restored, and that more regular communication and a greater spirit of partnership between Township leadership and Board of Education and District leadership can flourish as a result.
Number 5, we will successfully consolidate our fire department with South Orange. After five years of study and deliberation, and decades more of discussion, we are finally taking the final steps to merge fire departments with our sister town. Doing so will not only save significant costs in the short-term and achieve even more savings in the long-term, but will improve safety for both our residents and our first responders. There will be no increase in response time for fires and medical emergencies, no fire houses closing, and more firefighters responding to an initial alarm. We will incorporate the best practices from both departments and be even stronger together.
And I am very proud that I will have the opportunity to continue my involvement with the Fire Department as the appointed Third Member to the Joint Meeting overseeing the South Mountain Regional Fire Department. I am grateful for the chance to continue working with the tremendous firefighters of both towns, and also for the confidence of my colleagues on the Township Committee and the trust of our colleagues on the South Orange Board of Trustees for appointing me to this position.
While the rest of the Township department heads and employees are done with me in 10 days, Chief Alvarez and the Fire Department are stuck with me a bit longer. It has been such a pleasure to work with them from my position on the Public Safety Committee. I have been witness to their heroism as well, including their dedication in coming in day after day during the height of the pandemic in 2020. Even though our firefighters and EMTs were on the frontlines, responsible for multiple COVID calls and transports every shift, they didn’t call out sick or use vacation time. Instead, when times got toughest, overtime in the Fire Department hit a historic low.
The same was true of their bravery during the more recent Tropical Storm Ida, under the leadership of Acting Chief Chris Ariemma, when our firefighters (along with our police officers) waded into flood waters throughout the night to save people who were trapped and bring them to safety. Our first responders have been there when we needed them most over the past few years, and it has been my honor to work with them.
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On a personal note, I certainly did not foresee the Trump years or a global pandemic when I ran for this position back in 2015. But my service on the Township Committee was my refuge during the darkest days of the Trump administration. When it seemed like our basic values as Americans were under assault and our very reality was being gaslit from the presidential podium, many felt helpless to do anything. But I was able to come together with my colleagues and our Township employees to serve the residents of Maplewood and make this community a force that punched holes in the darkness.
When it seemed like DC and Trenton produced nothing but partisan gridlock, local government stood strong. It was such a source of comfort to know that, even within only our 4 square miles, we had the power to change things, even if only small things, for the better. If a resident came to us with a problem, we could often connect them with a solution (or, more often, the person who could help them solve it). If someone had a good idea, even if it required passing a new law or changing an existing one, we could usually make it happen within a few meetings.
In many ways, we were able to stand up for our community’s values and principles in an age when they were increasingly under attack. We unequivocally supported diversity, inclusion, and integration, and led the charge to declare Maplewood a welcoming community. On guns, healthcare, immigration, and equality, we took positions of moral leadership. We stood up for our Haitian and Latino neighbors; we supported the LGBTQ community.
We have mourned together. Charlottesville, mass shootings, January 6. But we have also celebrated a local woman winning an Olympic medal, new administrations in DC and Trenton, and so many other joyful occasions. We have pulled together during this pandemic, and will continue to do so.
I feel that I would be negligent in my duty to this community, however, if I didn’t point out a growing concern that I have. While our SOMA bubble has protected us from much of the ugliness of state and national politics, some of the toxicity that has plagued those larger arenas has also crept into our community dialogue as well.
As I have said before, I don’t know how historians will describe our era, but it won’t be as the age of nuance. Particularly on social media, nastiness and pettiness abounds, and what starts political often becomes personal. Like we see on the national stage, arguments are reduced to the lowest common denominator, often to make the opposing side seem ignorant, prejudiced, less than, or mean-spirited.
An engaged community requires that we find ways to disagree with each other without demonizing one another. To recognize that reasonable, educated minds can and do have different views without presuming that someone who disagrees with us must only be doing so because they are less informed, racist, sexist, greedy, or evil.
Commentators on the divisions in our county often speak of Kulturkampf, which they translate from the German incorrectly (though tellingly) as culture wars. The proper translation is actually cultural struggle, which I find to be a better and much more productive way of thinking about our civil disagreements. We need to find better ways to struggle together as a community without going to war with one another. War makes us weaker, but struggle makes us stronger.
Connecting with only those who already agree with us may be comfortable, but it robs us of the opportunities that our rich diversity presents. In our search for association we must take care not to alienate everyone who lives or thinks differently from us lest we end up creating and confining ourselves to bubbles of conformity. This becomes all too easy in a world where our society has democratized the news while our lawmakers have undemocratized elections. People can seek out places where all of the facts are carefully cultivated to comfortably fit their preconceived worldview, and citizens end up living in the same communities but in alternate realities to the point where they can only believe that election results are legitimate if their preferred candidate prevails. This is dangerous for our society and our democracy.
There was a time when nasty social media debates and online namecalling in this community seemed restricted to message boards like Maplewood Online, where many posted using anonymous handles. Most people, including myself, thought that discussion would be much more productive, or at least more civil, if everyone has to use their real name. If we’ve learned anything from local Facebook groups in the past few years, anonymity was apparently not the problem. And I will take ownership that I have not always been at my best on social media, as I have sometimes lost my temper and said things that I regretted. While social media has the power to be a powerful tool for activism, communication, and connection, it can also be toxic and divisive if we reduce those posting to just names and faces rather than recognizing that many of them are also our neighbors and our friends.
While I am concerned about this trend generally, I raise it tonight for a specific reason, and that is that I worry that the climate that our community creates, particularly on social media, discourages residents from serving in public office. Service is hard, and it should be. I don’t deny that. We all knew what we were getting into when we ran. We expect disagreements on policy and politics, and generally that is what we encounter face to face. But online some feel that public officials, even local volunteers, are suitable targets for vitriol and personal attacks, sometimes extending to their families as well. This is not healthy, and it is not warranted. Locally, most public positions are unpaid; Maplewood Township Committee members are actually relatively well paid at roughly $80 per week. When you factor in gas, childcare, and other expenses, most local elected officials actually pay to serve rather than the other way around. In short: no one is doing this for the money.
A democracy is only as strong as the choices that voters make, and the choices that voters make are only as good as their options. While we have been fortunate to have outstanding public servants in Maplewood and our surrounding towns, I am concerned that fewer people are running for office. The last three Maplewood Township Committee elections have been completely uncontested, both in the primary and general elections. This is not healthy for our democracy. I am hopeful that more members of our community will step up and run for public office, and that the rest of our community will create an environment that encourages that service.
I’d like to conclude tonight by expressing my deep gratitude to the many people that I have had the pleasure to work alongside for the past six years, especially my fellow public servants. I’ll start with our colleagues on the South Orange-Maplewood BOE, arguably the hardest job in our community. Your service is so valuable, but also nearly always thankless. But tonight, as a resident, a fellow elected official, and a District parent, I thank you for your time and dedication. I’d especially like to recognize former Board President Elizabeth Baker, whose collaboration with the two towns I always found to be productive and enrich both the process and the product.
I want to acknowledge and thank our partners in South Orange. Karen Hartshorn-Hilton, Summer Jones, Donna Coallier, Bob Zuckerman, Bobby Brown, Bill Haskins, as well as former Trustees Steve Schnall, Walter Clarke, Deborah Davis-Ford, Howard Levison, and Mark Rosner.
And Sheena Collum, my political sister. Sheena is the shining example of a public servant. She performs the role of Village President, which is more than a full-time job, for free, on top of her own full-time career. She somehow finds the time to be a policy wonk and a political powerhouse while also summoning the energy to be a booster for her community and local businesses and personally respond to every resident concern, whether via email, Facebook, or in person. She is a phenom, particularly as a partner to Maplewood, always looking out for what will be in the best interests of the entire SOMA/MAPSO community, rather than just her own position. Sheena has also been a great, loyal friend and support to me, always there when I call, and often calling me when I need it most. I think she may finally be accepting tonight that my service on the Township Committee is coming to an end, but it has been a process. When I told close friends and colleagues last year that I would not be seeking re-election before announcing that decision publicly, most were very supportive and congratulated me, while others said that they wished I were running again, but understood my decision. Sheena, bless her, drove directly to my house, offered to be my campaign manager, and was not pleased to take no for an answer. But I am glad that we will have the opportunity to continue working together on the Fire Department Joint Meeting.
I want to thank and acknowledge the great work of our outstanding 27th district legislative team, Senator Codey, Mila Jasey, John McKeon, and their wonderful staffs. They have been tremendous partners for us at the state level, helping to make sure that our community’s interests are heard and protected in Trenton, and we are very fortunate to have them working for us.
I appreciate all of the residents who have volunteered to serve on citizen advisory committees for the Township, especially those that I have had the chance to work closely with on the Community Board on Police, Pool Advisory Committee, Recration Advisory Committee, Green Team, Environmental Advisory Committee, 4th of July Committee, Maplewoodstock, and YouthNet.
I want to express my appreciation to the journalists who provide local news coverage to our community, in particular the Village Green, TapInto, and the News Record. We have seen clearly over the past few years just how crucial an active press is to preserving our democracy, and also how economic changes in the media threaten its continued existence. We are fortunate to have several outlets devoted to covering our community and keeping our residents informed. To Mary, Carolyn, Fred, Alia, Joe, and others, thank you. I sometimes wish things had happened differently or I hadn’t said something, but at least when it came to me, you always reported it accurately.
Choosing the right people to run our Township departments and serve our residents is an important Township Committee responsibility and over the last 6 years we have run quite the HR department, making several significant and successful hires and promotions, including our Township Administrator (twice), CFO, Police Chief and Deputy Police Chief, two Fire Chiefs, Township Engineer, Recreation Director, Construction Official, and the list goes on.
I want to thank all of our Department Heads. Paul Kittner and Cesare Riccardi have done an amazing job turning around a very challenging situation at the DPW. Our CFO, Joe Kolodziej, has brought fiscal best practices to our budget and helped to make our Township more financially healthy and responsible. Anette DePalma does great work in all of her roles, whether at Town Hall or in court, and Ryan Bancroft continues to do a terrific job administering our shared court with South Orange.
Speaking of things we could not foresee, when we hired a new Health Officer we had no idea that we would soon be facing a global pandemic, but boy were we lucky to have hired Candice Davenport. Candice, Anna Markarova, and the rest of the Health Department team have gone above and beyond over the past two years to help guide our Township through COVID. As leaders, we looked to Candice to provide guidance to steer our policies, and our community looked to Candice for comfort and reassurance when the virus was politicized. But Candice was our own Dr. Fauci, helping us to separate truth from fiction and steer us away from fear and toward safety.
I have had the great pleasure of working closely with Missi Mancuso and her great staff in the Recreation Department. Missi is the epitome of when you want something done, give the job to a busy person. She came in as our Rec Director and has been asked to do seemingly almost everything else at one point or another since, and she has done it all with cheer and enthusiasm. She is such an asset to our Township. Whether you are a child, a senior, or anywhere in between, whether you are an athlete or an artist, Missi and her team deliver something for everyone, and I have loved working with them.
Thanks to Jerry Giamis and Bailey Barnett, our super administrative team. I have enjoyed getting to know you and working with you over the past several months and know that the Township is in good hands with the two of you at the wheel in Town Hall each day. Jerry, you impressed me in your interview not only with your resume and experience, but with your desire to be here. You understood what Maplewood was all about, what we were trying to accomplish, and you wanted to be a part of it. I am very glad that you are. And Bailey, whether it is in Administration or another role, or even in Maplewood or another town, you are a rising star in local government and wherever you are will always be lucky to have you on the team.
Roger Desiderio, our trusted counselor. I am sure that having another practicing attorney in the room has not always made your job easier, but I have certainly enjoyed being able to defer to you on legal issues, and I have also valued your wisdom and experience. Beyond your knowledge of the statutes, you have also brought practical and logical guidance to us that I have appreciated. As a longtime Maplewood resident, you also brought valuable local and historical perspective to your analysis. With all of your experience and being a resident, however, you remained a counselor and never intruded on our role as policymakers, often reminding us that the people had elected us to make the decisions. But you made those decisions better, and you usually kept us from getting sued, so that is a good thing.
Liz Fritzen, the Township Committee would be lost without you. Or at least I certainly would be. From my first day to my last, you have helped me to navigate my role as a Township Committee member and understand the process for meetings, ordinances, and the like. In addition to keeping the Township Committee in line, you also run an excellent Clerk’s Office. Our community knows that we can always count on you to run a fair and square and professional election, and to handle the rest of your duties in a first-class manner. I’ve said before and I’ll repeat tonight, the Township Committee members who hire Liz’s replacement may have already been born, but I hope they haven’t been elected yet. Liz, you keep Maplewood running and you’re the best. I’ll still come by Town Hall now and then to bother you. Go Yankees!
I have had the privilege of working with four different Fire Chiefs, Chief Dingelstedt, Chief Weber, Acting Chief Ariemma, and now Chief Alvarez. I have learned so much from all of them and look forward to putting that education to work and continuing to learn in my new role with the South Mountain Regional Fire Department.
With the Police Department, I have had the privilege of working with Chief Jimmy DeVaul. Those who don’t know us may presume that we have an awkward relationship since I was the only Township Committee member to vote against his appointment as Chief, but actually nothing could be further from the truth. That night we shook hands and Chief DeVaul promised me that no one would work harder than him to earn my trust and build the department our town deserves. And I promised him in return that we were in this together now, and that no one would do more to support him, give him what he needed to succeed, and have his back than me. He has certainly kept his promises, and his performance as Chief over the few years has exceeded not just my greatest expectations, but anything I could have ever hoped for in a Chief. And I hope that he would agree that I have kept my promises to him. I certainly supported him on every initiative, even when I was skeptical. Such as his Power Wednesday plan, which I thought would end up driving overtime through the roof, but has actually ended up reducing it significantly. Our work together over the past few years has truly been a great partnership, and I am grateful to you for all that you have done. And I am also grateful to my colleagues for outvoting me and making you Chief.
The Township Committee is really like an extended family, especially because often it feels as though we see each other and spend more time together than with our actual families. And, like real families, sometimes we disagree and bicker with one another, but at the end of the day there is always respect for one another and deep personal care for each other.
First, I want to thank my former colleagues Marlon Brownlee, India Larrier, and Ian Grodman. I learned from each of you and tried to model my service on the examples you set.
Now for my present colleagues, all of whom I have had the privilege to serve alongside for at least the last 4 years.
First my political uncle, Vic DeLuca. Vic has been a mentor to all of us on the Township Committee, showing us the ropes and helping us to navigate the transition to serving on the TC. His dedication to our town is unmatched, and no one is more responsible for building Maplewood’s brand around the county, the state, and the country than Vic. Vic has shown tireless devotion to our library, and his work was instrumental in securing millions of dollars in state grants that will help our town to build our expanded 21st Century Library. He also knows where all of the best dessert parties are in Atlantic City. If Maplewood ever builds a Mount Rushmore, Vic’s face would certainly be deserving of a space, but in the absence of that, I hope that a future Township Committee sees fit to honor Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and Committeeman DeLuca in an appropriate way. On a possibly related note, and come to think of it Vic does make his home in the Hilton community, changing the name of the DeHart Community Center to the DeLuca Community Center would only require changing 4 letters.
Next my political aunt, Nancy Adams. My running mate and Maplewood’s Lorax (she speaks for the trees). In particular I have admired your environmental leadership and the fact that you never let political considerations even compete with your conscience, much less ever have a chance to prevail over it. Largely through your influence, Maplewood has continued our proud tradition as a leader on the environment and sustainability. You never let us rest on our environmental laurels, instead pushing us further, directing our landmark commercial leaf blower ban, plastic bag ban, and other key measures, many of which have served as precedents to other communities around the state and even around the country. You have also been a great voice of reason and experience, both on this Committee publicly and in my ear privately, and I am extremely grateful for both.
Dean Dafis. Our relationship hasn’t always been easy, and we have had a few disagreements that (to both of our regret) became public. But we are also very much alike; we both tend to put all of our cards on the table and speak from the heart, even if it sometimes gets us into trouble. What the public doesn’t know, and perhaps our colleagues don’t either, is that a number of times we have worked together behind the scenes on matters where we aligned, knowing that if we could reach agreement, we could get consensus on the Committee. You put everything you have into serving Maplewood, and have truly put in the time and effort to understanding all of the Township’s departments and operations. You have the passion, skill, and knowledge to lead this Committee and this Town, and I hope you know that after you are sworn in as Mayor I will be supporting you as a resident, a former colleague, and a friend.
Frank McGehee, my political brother. We have largely come on this TC journey together, working on each others’ campaigns and being allies on almost (ALMOST) every issue since. But it’s never been political between us. We have always known where we stood with one another. And even when we disagreed, we were always able to respect each other’s views, and even more importantly always able to grab a beer and cheer on the Irish afterward. I had every confidence that you would be an outstanding Mayor, but I had no idea the unprecedented challenges that you would face within your first few months. I had a front row seat to watch with both pride and awe at how you rose to the occasion to lead our community through this pandemic. You provided calm and decisive leadership, backed by science, that helped our town come through the darkest and scariest days of the pandemic. While dealing with the fiscal challenges presented by declining revenues, you also privately took time to comfort families of residents who passed away and supported them in their grief. Maplewood owes a large debt of gratitude to Mayor Frank, as do all as of us on the Township Committee. I have been so proud to call you my colleague and my Mayor, and I am even prouder that I will continue to call you my friend and my brother.
I also want to posthumously thank my predecessor Jerry Ryan, who told me before I took this office that he hoped that I would enjoy serving this town as much as he have. Jerry, wherever you are, I have, and thank you for all of your generous guidance and advice during my first few years on the TC. And to my successor Jamaine Cripe, I want to thank you in advance for all of the work that you will do for Maplewood. I know that you will help continue our path to becoming a more perfect community, and I look forward to seeing your service and success.
Most importantly, I want to thank my family. My parents for setting the example of stepping up and being part of the 10%. And, with my newfound free time, I am looking forward to spending more energy supporting the two most important women in my life, my wife Alex and my daughter Caroline, both of whom have gone above and beyond to support my service.
Alex has made so many sacrifices to accommodate all of my meetings and other commitments over the past 6 years, and for many months before that on the campaign. In hindsight, it was probably a mistake to tell her “it’s only 2 meetings a month”, but perhaps better to still be begging forgiveness than to have ever asked for permission. In any event, the challenges presented by my political commitments haven’t managed to prevent Alex from growing her reputation as a rockstar professor at Columbia Law School, a sought after mediator and public speaker, and becoming a bestselling author. In fact, the paperback edition of her book Ask for More will be coming out on January 4th. But more important, Alex is my confidante and my sounding board, and I could not ask for a better partner or a mom and role model for our daughter.
And Caroline, who has gone from a Pre-Kindergartner on my first campaign to a championship swimmer 5th grader now. She loved being involved in my campaigns, and also coming to Township events. In particular, before the pandemic, she enjoyed coming to our Talk to the Township Committee events and meeting residents, often answering their questions and listening to their concerns at least as well as I did. As she moves on to middle school next year, I am looking forward to spending more time with her, whether it is around town, on the deck at swim meets, or finally trying to complete our tour of all the Disney parks around the world.
So, in closing, thank you Maplewood, and Goodnight CC.
