Christopher Lang, Correspondent, @topherlang2 | Apr 25, 2018 | MonroeNow
The Cranbury Township governing body confirmed a Democratic municipal candidate to replace a committeeman who resigned earlier this month for personal reasons.
Michael Ferrante, a former one-term Board of Education member, was one of three candidates nominated for the post that expires Dec. 31, but the only one who is running in the municipal election in November.
“It was great,” said Ferrante about his appointment and his first meeting as a committeeman. “It was nice to be on the other side of the table.”
His appointment was celebrated with family, including his wife Deanna, who participated in the Oath of Office ceremony administered by Township Clerk Kathleen Cunningham.
Ferrante replaces David Cook who resigned because he plans to spend much of his time in Arizona where his fiancé resides.
By law, the Middlesex County Democratic Organization nominated three individual to replace Cook’s seat since it was an affiliated with the party. The township committee then selects one of those nominated and votes on a person to fill the open position. Since Democrats are the majority, they ultimately got to pick the individual.
Heading into the appointment, Ferrante was considered the favorite to replace Cook since he is running for a full-term in the November election.
“Certainly since Mike Ferrante is our candidate for the fall and since we want to fill the vacancy with somebody really good and give him some experience, that’s the reason why we are going to end up naming Mike,” Mayor Glenn Johnson said in a previous interview.
In the coming months, Ferrante hopes that he will be able to apply his knowledge of budgets and other experiences gained from serving on the school board to continue building on the achievements of the governing body.
“But we have a lot of roads that need to be repaired over the next several years. And we need to keep taxes low,” he said. “Part of our job [as committee members] is providing predictable tax payments for our residents.”
As for the November election, Ferrante is running with Democratic incumbent James Taylor against Republican challengers Nancy Witt and Wayne Wittman. There are two seats up for grabs.
Christopher Lang media portfolio 