Swearing in Ceremony

New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Tahesha L. Way poses for a group picture with Mayor Colleen Mahr and the Borough Council prior to Wednesday’s reorganization meeting. Pictured from left to right: Councilwoman Gina Berry, Councilwoman Patricia Walsh, Lt. Gov. Way, Mayor Mahr, Councilwoman Katherine Mitchell, Councilman Jeff Banks, and Councilman Anthony Carter.

The Fanwood Borough Council held its annual reorganization meeting Wednesday night. Mayor Colleen Mahr was sworn in for sixth term, while Councilman Anthony Carter took the oath for his third term, and Jeff Banks, who joined the council in January of 2019 to fill a council vacancy, began his new term.

Joe Schott, a World War II U.S. veteran, Second Class Electronic Technician’s Mate, who will celebrate his 102nd birthday next month, led the start of Wednesday’s Fanwood reorganization meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance.

New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Tahesha L. Way, who also serves as Secretary of State, administered the oath to Mayor Mahr, as her mother Nancy Yewaisis, held the Bible, while her sons Liam, Dan and Colin looked on.

Mayor Mahr and Councilmen Carter and Banks were reelected in November. Framed copies of their certificates of election were presented by Deputy Borough Clerk Courtney Agnello in place of Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi, who was unable to attend.

Also sworn in were, Daniel Antonelli as municipal prosecutor and Jill Lazare as public defender, as well as officers of the Fanwood Rescue Squad.

Katherine Mitchell, who is in her eighth term on council, was elected as the 2024 council president and will chair the Public Works Committee. She called the appointment a “great honor.”

In her comments, Mayor Mahr thanked the voters “who returned me to this unpresented sixth term.” She has served as mayor for 20 years. She thanked her family for being her “biggest cheerleaders.” “I can’t do this without my family, none of us could really do this without our family and our support.”

“I’m a single mother and I work full-time, but I believe in public service to my core,” she said, calling government “a noble a just profession.”

She said she is one of only 70 women mayors in New Jersey out of 565 towns.

Looking ahead to 2024, she said the new Fanwood library, when it opens in the spring, will be the first new municipal building in 50 years.

She said her top priority in her new term is to make ensure that borough residents feel safe, protected and that they are seen and heard.

Councilman Carter said has coached all sports from soccer to baseball to football and with his family in the borough for 30 years. He called his years in Fanwood a “fantastic ride.”

Councilman Banks said he lived in Fanwood for 21 years as he fell in love with the people and borough events. He called his council experience “a wild ride and a wonderful ride.”