After two rounds of secret ballot voting on April 2, the West Windsor Township Council selected Diane Ciccone to fill the seat vacated by former Councilman Will Anklowitz, who resigned last month to assume his new position as a Superior Court judge.##M:[more]##
Ciccone was sworn in and took her seat on the dais immediately after being selected, but the council had to vote twice.
Ciccone was first nominated by Councilwoman Linda Geevers, while Councilman George Borek nominated candidate Andrew Hersh. The first vote, however, ended in a 2-1-1 vote, with two votes for Ciccone, one vote for Hersh, and one abstention. Appointment of a candidate requires an affirmative vote by a majority of the eligible council members — which means that three council members must vote in favor of the candidate. In the event of a 2-2 tie, the mayor would have had to cast the deciding vote. The votes were taken by secret ballot, with the clerk reading the results.
Councilwoman Heidi Kleinman also voiced her support for Ciccone during the nomination process. “This is someone who has a commitment to volunteering in the community,” said Kleinman. “It’s apparent in her resume,” which includes her involvement in the schools, in the West Windsor Bicycle and Pedestrian Alliance, Bikefest, and her service on the Planning Board. Kleinman also noted Ciccone’s commitment to sustainability issues.
Geevers said Ciccone’s experience with land use and planning would be beneficial to the council as it moves forward with the redevelopment process. And, “I think she’ll be an independent thinker on council,” Geevers said. “She doesn’t bring an agenda to council.”
Still, Council President Charles Morgan said that he was “looking to skill sets that will complement the skill sets we don’t already have on council.” Morgan said the council was in need of people who were good with numbers and other financial and business consulting backgrounds. “How can you pass up free advice from Marshall McClennan?” Morgan said, referring to Hersh’s professional background. Hersh currently works for Marsh USA.
Still, the vote came to 2-1-1. Again, the same two candidates were nominated; this time Kleinman nominated Ciccone and Borek again nominated Hersh. However, the vote was 3-0-1.
Once Ciccone took the dais, council members congratulated her. Ciccone was given the opportunity to speak. She said only: “Thank you very much – let’s get to work.”
For more information on all of the candidates who put their names into the hat, check out the April 3 edition of the News.
