HOWELL — At the final Howell Township Council meeting of 2011, Juan A. Malave was sworn in as a member of the governing body. Malave is replacing Councilwoman Susan Schroeder Clark on the dais.
Clark resigned her position as a councilwoman in early December to spend more time with her family.
Malave, 50, is no stranger to Howell government. He was elected to the council on the Republican ticket in 2002, took office in January 2003 and served a four-year term that ended on Dec. 31, 2006. He did not seek re-election in 2006.
Clark was elected to a four-year term on the council in November 2008 and took office in January 2009. She was elected as an independent candidate, unaffiliated with any political party.
Because Clark was elected as an independent candidate, the remaining members of the council were able to select her replacement without direct input from a political party.
When a member of a governing body is elected as a Republican or a Democrat and subsequently resigns from office, that individual’s political party leaders provide several names to the governing body as potential replacements, and the members of the governing body select a replacement from that list.
Malave was appointed to serve the final year of Clark’s term. Monmouth County Republican Freeholder Thomas A. Arnone administered the oath of office to Malave as the new councilman took his seat on the dais.
Malave thanked Clark for her service on the council.
“She certainly served with dignity and with class,” he said .
He thanked his family members and friends for their support and for the faith the council has put in him.
“I am grateful to the mayor and council for the opportunity they have given me to serve Howell again,” Malave said. “I am humbled and honored by their vote of confidence, as I know they had many other options to choose from. I accept this immense responsibility and I pledge to do all I believe is in the best interest of all Howell residents.”
The council will hold its annual reorganization meeting on Jan. 3 at 6:30 p.m., to be followed by a workshop meeting scheduled for 7:30 p.m.