Celebrating Women’s History Month: Mayor Maryanne Connelly

During Women’s History Month throughout March, we are celebrating those women with Fanwood roots who are or have made a difference. This week we are recognizing former Mayor Maryanne Connelly, who served as Mayor from 1996-2000.

Born in Brooklyn, Mrs. Connelly, was raised in Maplewood and attended high school in Elizabeth. She received her bachelor’s degree in nutrition from the College of Saint Elizabeth and went on to obtain her professional registration as a dietician at Cornell Medical Center in New York. She worked as a registered dietician at Cornell and Bell Labs. While at Bell Labs she attended school at night to receive her MBA degree. She was employed for 28 years with AT&T as a human resources executive. She was also an adjunct professor of political science at St. Peter’s College, Jersey City, NJ (now Saint Peter’s University).

As a new resident of Fanwood, Mrs. Connelly became active in the community in 1981 when she lobbied the Planning Board to protect her neighborhood over concerns about a house being built on a lot next to hers, which she understood was in a flood zone and off limits for construction. She later served as a member of the Fanwood Planning Board from 1984 to 1986 and again from 1996 to 1999. Mrs. Connelly ran for and was elected to the Borough Council in 1985, where she served for nine years including seven years as Council President.

Mrs. Connelly was elected Mayor in 1995. As Mayor, she initiated the Fanny Wood Day celebration and had the vision for the Millennium Clock. She served her community as chair of the Benedictine Academy Board of Trustees, Elizabeth; liaison to the Scotch Plains-Fanwood Board of Education; as a member of the Fanwood Library Board of Directors, and as a member of the Raritan Valley Transportation Advisory Board. She was also a member of the Human Resources Planning Society.

She was a member of the New Jersey Association of Women Elected Officials for 13 years, serving as president for two years and as a member of the Board of Directors for nine years.

Mayor Connelly ran for Congress against veteran Republican Bob Franks in the 7th Congressional District in 1998, receiving 44 percent of the vote. Two years later she ran again for the open Congressional seat as Congressman Franks was running for the U.S. Senate. Mayor Connelly won a hard fought competitive Democratic Party primary against the Democratic establishment backed candidate to win her party’s nomination. Mayor Connelly’s uphill struggle to have a woman taken seriously as a legitimate candidate in the highly contested Primary race earned her the 2001 NOW (National Organization of Women) National Woman of Courage Award. She went on to face Republican Michael Ferguson in the General Election, where she came within 5,000 tallies of her defeating her opponent out of 226,000 total votes cast.