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EAST WINDSOR: Mayor accepts state leadership role

By Jen Samuel, Managing Editor
   EAST WINDSOR — Mercer County Freeholders joined Sen. Linda Greenstein and Assemblymen Daniel Benson and Wayne DeAngelo in congratulating Mayor Janice Mironov in becoming president of the New Jersey State League of Municipalities.
   On Thursday, Sean Conner, of Gov. Chris Christie’s Press Office, said that the administration continues to have a healthy working relationship with the League and looks “forward to maintaining that with the newly elected leadership team.”
   Mayor Mironov was elected to the role of League president on Dec. 5.
   ”I rose through the officer ranks.” Mayor Mironov told the Herald on Wednesday.
   State Sen. Greenstein administrated the oath of office to Mayor Mironov during a public ceremony held at the East Windsor Senior Center on Tuesday. Approximately 200 people were in attendance.
   East Windsor Councilman Alan Rosenberg welcomed the assembled dignitaries, which included neighboring Hightstown Mayor Steven Kirson.
   Mercer County Executive Brian Hughes and League Executive Director William Dressel also delivered remarks.
   ”It is an honor and privilege for me to be here this evening to join you in celebrating the swearing in of Mayor Mironov as president of the State League of Municipalities,” Mr. Dressel said. “Janice’s reputation as being a caring and capable mayor has been well documented with her nearly 20 years of dedicated service to East Windsor.”
   He continued, “She is known as being an articulate advocate and leader in shaping statewide policy. She is highly respected for her intelligence and integrity by mayors and state legislators from both political parties and from all around our Garden State.”
   Freeholders Ann Cannon, Anthony Carabelli, John Cimino, Pat Colavita, Samuel Frisby, Andrew Koontz and Lucy Walter participated in the ceremony and presented Mayor Mironov with a certificate of honor.
   After she was sworn in, a reception followed at the Senior Center.
   Of the League, Mayor Mironov told the Herald it offers a great opportunity for many local officials throughout the state by providing recourses and contacts with whom to develop alliances.
   The League works together to create a single voice for key issues impacting local towns throughout New Jersey, she explained.
Reform
   In 2011, Mayor Mironov was elected first vice president of the League.
   She has been a leading advocate for the restoration of municipal energy receipts as a “means to assist local governments and to provide property tax relief.” The mayor said this issue would remain a top priority for her as president.
   ”Oppressive property taxes remain clearly the No.1 concern of citizens and businesses,” Mayor Mironov said.
Land
   Another area the mayor said the League would pursue is land use and environmental issues.
   She said the League would work to ensure that municipal governments are able to “make decisions and guide our local land use (practices) within our communities.”
   This includes opposition to the state age-restricted conversion law while continuing to work to keep solar development off preserved farmland, according to the mayor.
Economy
   Mayor Mironov said the League would also focus on working together with state, county and federal officials to encourage additional quality economic development in New Jersey communities and to generate new jobs.
   She noted that, for coastal towns, this would be a “challenge in the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy.”
Communications
   The mayor said the League would continue to develop additional intergovernmental cooperation between towns, counties, state and federal bodies.
   In reference to Superstorm Sandy, she said there was a “system breakdown” of communications between New Jersey towns and the utility companies.
   Millions of state residents were without power for days after the storm hit Oct. 29.
   Mayor Mironov said that, with her encouragement, the League is taking a leadership role to set up opportunities for dialogue between utility companies and local officials.
League president
   To serve as president of the League, one must be an active mayor.
   ”League presidents are mayors, and they serve one-year terms,” said Michael Cerra, senior legislative analyst of the League.
   He said Mayor Mironov succeeded Art Ondish, the mayor of Mount Arlington.
   Of East Windsor, Mayor Mironov said, “It is my intention to continue to focus on serving the residents and businesses of the community as best I can.”
   She has been appointed by her peers on council to the position of mayor for 17 consecutive years. In January, she is set to begin her 18th term on the Township Council. She successfully ran to keep her council seat in 2011.
   Tuesday evening, Mr. Dressel said Mayor Mironov has served on the League executive board since 2007.
   Mayor Mironov is a member of the League’s Legislative Committee and Housing Policy Committee; and chairwoman of its Resolutions Committee. She is also a member of the League’s Energy Tax Restoration Task Force and represents the League on the Board of New Jersey Shares and the New Jersey Highway Traffic Safety Policy Committee.
   Mr. Dressel said, “We congratulate you and look forward to your leadership in meeting the challenges, which confront our 565-member communities during the next 12 months.”
   As of 2012, there are 566 municipalities within New Jersey.
   Jan. 1, that number will decrease by one when Princeton Borough and Princeton Township merge. Princeton residents voted in favor of the consolidation measure in a November 2011 referendum.
   Mayor Mironov has served as a member of the East Windsor Planning Board for the past 17 years. She is a member of the township Economic Development Committee, the Clean Communities Advisory Committee and a trustee of East Windsor Green Space Inc.
   According to the League, Mayor Mironov was raised and educated in public schools in Bergen County. She then earned a political science degree from Wellesley College in Massachusetts and received her law degree with honors from the National Law Center at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.