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HILLSBOROUGH: Former mayor Ferrera chosen as administrator

By Gene Robbins, Managing Editor
   Former mayor Anthony Ferrera was chosen Tuesday night as the next township administrator.
   Mr. Ferrera served on the governing body from 2004 to 2011, leaving at the end of the year after taking a job in the state Department of Labor.
   He’ll succeed Michael Merdinger, who will leave the top township job at the end of August. Mr. Ferrera will be paid $124,000 a year, about the same salary as Mr. Merdinger.
   He’ll start Aug. 20. He also was named acting deputy clerk, too, as the Township Committee elevated Pam Borek to the acting clerk title held by Mr. Merdinger.
   The decision means that, for the second time in about 20 months, the Township Committee chose a township resident whom they said had significant knowledge of local people and issues. It was also the second time an all-Republican governing body selected someone who was a former Republican-elected mayor to be township administrator.
   Committeeman Frank DelCore said the township hadn’t advertised or posted the job opening, instead, going back to the field of candidates from the end of 2010 and those who expressed interest, like Mr. Ferrera.
   Mayor Carl Suraci said, “Hillsborough gains the best of both worlds” in gaining the combination of Mr. Ferrera’s seven years on the Township Committee with “high-level management experience and skills” developed in the private sector in 20 years at AT&T and his recent assignment as director of the Division of Workforce Portfolio and Contract Management in the state labor department.
   Committee members cited Mr. Ferrera’s activism in community groups and his success as a votegetter as reasons why they thought Mr. Ferrera’s selection would be pleasing to township residents.
   In a statement issued by the township, Mr. Ferrera said his experience in the private sector has prepared him for the responsibilities of the job. That, plus time spent on boards, commission and as a volunteer, “gives me the insight to know that Hillsborough is a special place. It is an honor to have this opportunity in my hometown.”