Special Meeting For Chatham Township Committee Vacancy July 8

CHATHAM, NJ — A special Township Committee meeting is planned in Chatham on Thursday, July 8 to decide who will fill the vacancy after the resignation of former Mayor and Committee Member Tracy Ness on June 11.

The meeting, which will be held in-person but with a Zoom option, starts at 7:30 p.m. at this link or by entering webinar ID 873 5254 5836.

During the meeting, candidates for the seat will make statements, before a new member of the township committee will be appointed and take their oath of office.

From there, the committee will pick from among themselves, a new mayor and deputy mayor. There will also be a committee member assigned to the Planning Board, a role Ness had formerly served in.

A successor was supposed to be announced for Ness’ spot at the committee meeting on June 24, with the decision deadlocked and deferred, sparking the special meeting after two committee members, Ashley Felice and Mark Hamilton, disagreed.

Felice and Hamilton asserted it was improper to pick the candidate - a nominee from the Democratic Party - behind closed doors; and it should be done during a public session.

The two Republican members of the committee, Felice and Hamilton - both attorneys - cited legal precedence as backing their stance.

Felice told Patch on June 25 that Ness had resigned without notice, something she claimed happened in secret.

“We can’t match that with additional improper conduct behind closed doors in executive session,” Felice said, stating there were “multiple applicable cases,” where this type of selection process had been disallowed, including Gannett Satellite Info. Network, Inc. v. Bd. of Educ. of Borough of Manville.

Representatives from the Chatham Democratic Committee disagreed.

Phil Ankel, the group’s chair, initially described Felice and Hamilton’s decision as disappointing, in what he followed up as a “deeply disappointing development in an already politically-divided township.”

Ankel said the special meeting was wasted time and money on the township’s dime that he claimed could have been avoided, stating Felice and Hamilton didn’t raise any objections until the prospective candidates for the seat were “on the line waiting to be interviewed.”

“The path to replace committee members who step down is well worn, years if not decades of Republican-led committee precedent was replicated in the proposed approach,” Ankel stated. “That process was explained at the last committee meeting and Committee Members Hamilton and Felice did not object at that meeting nor in the intervening weeks when there was ample time to address their purported concerns, also with the township's attorney."

“Our residents deserve at a minimum the right to hear applicants publicly answer a few questions before they become the only unelected official who will be the deciding vote on the Township Committee.” Felice said.

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