Holmes poised to assume mayor’s position

Lawrence councilman expected to be selected Jan. 1.

By: Lea Kahn
   Councilman Mark Holmes is poised to make Lawrence history New Year’s Day, when he is expected to be chosen as the first black mayor in the township’s history.
   "I am excited and thrilled," Mr. Holmes, 42, said this week. "It is noteworthy for an African-American to be the mayor. It is an awesome responsibility to be the first of anything, but ultimately I will be the mayor for everyone."
   Mr. Holmes, who is completing this year as deputy mayor, said he is excited for the opportunity to lead Township Council in 2004. He said he is thankful to his colleagues on the council to have given him the chance to serve as mayor.
   While the mayor takes the lead role, Mr. Holmes said, all five Township Council members — the mayor, deputy mayor and three council members — work together on issues facing the township.
   The cornerstone projects of his year as mayor will be the continued work toward the revitalization of the Eggerts Crossing neighborhood, as well as the revitalization of Brunswick Pike between the Brunswick Circle and Mayflower Avenue, Mr. Holmes said.
   The incoming mayor also wants to focus on remodeling the Municipal Building, now that the Lawrence Township Police Department and the Lawrence Township Municipal Court have vacated their former spaces and moved into their new building on the north side of the municipal complex.
   "It’s going to be a good year," Mr. Holmes said. "I am just thankful that Township Council works really well together."
   Mr. Holmes is a Democrat, as are council members Pam Mount and Greg Puliti and Councilman-elect Michael Powers. Councilman Rick Miller is the lone Republican. Mr. Holmes was elected to Township Council in 1997 as a Republican, and was re-elected in 2001. But in 2002, he switched political parties and became a Democrat.
   Mr. Holmes’ ascension to mayor is the culmination of a long wait within his family.
   Mr. Holmes’ uncle, former Democratic Township Councilman Harold Vereen, was in line to become the first black mayor in 1992. However, control of Township Council switched from the Democrats to the Republicans in the 1991 election.
   The entire Vereen family, of which Mr. Holmes is a member, has long been active in Lawrence Township affairs.
   Mr. Vereen was the first African-American elected to Township Council, in 1989, and served as deputy mayor in 1991.
   Another uncle, Fred Vereen Jr., organized the Lawrence Neighborhood Service Center and served as its first executive director from 1967 to 1976. He was instrumental in forming Lawrence Non-Profit Housing Inc., which built the Eggerts Crossing Village affordable rental townhouse complex at 175 Johnson Ave.
   Mr. Holmes’ mother, Helen Vereen Holmes, is the executive director of the Lawrence Township Office on Aging and the Lawrence Senior Center on Darrah Lane.
   His father, William Holmes Sr., served on the Lawrence Township Board of Education from 1969 to 1978. He was the first African-American to serve as school board president, in 1976.