Another Stalemate On Chatham Committee Vacancy Decision

CHATHAM, NJ — At a special meeting on Thursday night where there had been hopes to fill the vacancy left by former Mayor Tracy Ness, instead Chatham Township Committee Members remained divided among their choices for Ness’ replacement.

Two motions for each of their preferred candidates for the vacancy hit roadblocks during the meeting - which lasted nearly 1.5 hours on Thursday - leaving the decision to the Chatham Democratic Committee after each nomination failed.

The special meeting was scheduled after the June 24 meeting when Committee Members Mark Hamilton and Ashley Felice - both additionally attorneys - said the nomination should not be made in executive session; and the public should have the opportunity to ask questions of the nominees for the seat. Felice cited case law to Patch on June 25, which she said supports not choosing a successor behind closed doors.

Disagreement In Choosing The New Committee Member

On Thursday, Deputy Mayor Stacey Ewald said the process to fill vacancies differs throughout New Jersey, with some government bodies selecting replacements at the public session, with others doing so during executive sessions. She said while the Township Committee had chosen candidates in executive sessions in the past, to maintain further transparency, the Township Committee decided to move forward this way during the special meeting.

Committeewoman Celeste Fondaco nominated Katherine “Kathy” Abbott for the seat, seconded by Ewald - both from the Democratic Party themselves - which failed with dissensions from the committee’s Republicans Mark Hamilton and Ashley Felice. On the flip side after hearing from the three Democratic nominees including Abbott, Chatham Democratic Committee Chair Philip Ankel and Paul Payton - who was unable to attend the meeting but submitted a statement - Hamilton nominated Payton, with Felice seconding; and Ewald and Fondaco disagreeing with the choice.

Ewald said the Democratic Committee will now be charged with picking the candidate, the deadline 15 days from this coming Sunday, July 11.

The deadlock among the parties additionally prevented them from moving forward to not only swear in the new committee member, but to choose a new mayor, deputy mayor and representative for the Planning Board.

Felice and Hamilton expressed concerns about Abbott’s abilities to reach across the aisle and work with them, after Felice said Abbott referred to them as “extremists” in a social media post following the June 24 meeting. She also said Abbott questioned their motivations during that same meeting, in their call for transparency.

Ewald and Fondaco each said Abbott - the sole candidate on the Democratic ticket in June in an uncontested race - holds the most experience of the three.

In her statement, Abbott described herself as a “centrist,” with Payton and Ankel each endorsing her in their statements.

“Times change and politics change, but most people still meet in the middle,” Abbott told the public and committee while at the podium on Thursday night. “I would be an elected leader who can work with other Committee members to achieve common goals by making compromise and treating each other with respect.”

Abbott, who also answered questions from the committee members, said she was qualified after having served on the Township Committee herself from 2012 through 2014. She said she scrutinizes meeting documents with a Masters in English from Georgetown University and Economics from New York University. Abbott, a township resident the past 27 years, also said she’s served actively on the Environmental Commission, the Planning Board, the Parent Teacher Organization and in other roles.

The Debate Over The Three Nominations

“In my view, the three candidates that were proffered by Mr. Ankel and the Democratic Committee, hardly were three legitimate candidates, including himself, giving a campaign speech in favor of Mrs. Abbott,” Hamilton said.

“I was a little bit surprised frankly that he proffered as a justification for why Mrs. Abbott should be put on this committee without being elected by the citizens of this township, is because she is the current Democratic nominee,” Hamilton continued. “I couldn’t possibly disagree with that more.”

While Hamilton didn’t challenge Abbott’s credentials, he called it “wholly inappropriate political pandering and maneuvering” to place Abbott on the Township Committee because she was the Democratic nominee, citing “a lot of talk in this country today about election manipulation, election meddling and the idea of having a stalwart Democrat [Ness] step down just before the end of her term on the basis that she’s moving; and to install onto this committee on an unelected basis the current candidate.”

Hamilton embraced the idea of Payton’s nomination “on his honesty that he was willing to be impartial,” stating Payton “wasn’t proffering partisan electioneering.”

“I think he’s an appropriate placeholder just for the next couple of months,” Hamilton said, until the General Election in November when either Abbott as the Democratic nominee and Republican nominee Daniel R. Bevere, run for the seat.

Ewald called Payton “a wonderful person,” who she said she would be happy to have on the Township Committee, “but at this time, Kathy Abbott, in my mind, clearly has the qualifications,” stating that Abbott “has more experience on the Township Committee than any of us sitting here.”

With the Committee Members having debated on transparency about the process in picking Ness’ successor, Ewald said “there was no better way” for the public to transparently evaluate Abbott, than for her to serve on the seat over the next four months.

“My issue is I don’t see her [Abbott] having the ability to work with us [Felice and Hamilton],” Felice said referring to Abbott’s Facebook Post.

“There is no better evidence that some extremists hope to mire down our township government with delays and obstructions,” Abbott wrote on June 25 about the last meeting outcome. “These tactics waste time, energy and taxpayer dollars. We cannot afford this waste. We have too many important issues for our government to be weighed down by a national party playbook that pushes denial, obstruction and belligerence.”

Though she didn’t comment on the remark about extremists after Felice questioned Abbott, she told Felice that she was “easy to work with” and had been blindsided at the June 24 meeting after being asked to come for the executive session, then was later told she needed to leave.

“I don’t think it [being asked to leave] was transparent,” Abbott said.

During her previous tenure on the Township Committee, Abbott said it was tradition, as well as permitted under the Open Public Meetings Act, for vacancies to be chosen in executive session. Abbott also explained it was a partisan position and a political process to choose for the vacancy.

“We’re looking for somebody who’s qualified,” Ewald said, adding that she feels Abbott has the experience needed to make upcoming decisions for the township.

RELATED: Chatham Delays Committee Member Vacancy Decision Until July 8

RELATED: Special Meeting For Chatham Township Committee Vacancy July 8

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at jennifer.miller@patch.com.