The president of the Woodbridge Township Council has stepped down. Michele Charmello, who was first elected to the council in 2010 to represent the township’s third ward, announced at the July 21 council meeting that she was leaving the post.
“It wasn’t easy; it was hard,” she said after the meeting. “I have a network of friends, of people I’ve met on the council, so that’s the hard part about leaving.”
Having received a job opportunity near Pittsburgh, Pa., Charmello plans to relocate there, she said.
Her career thus far has included work in the nonprofit sector, and her new job will have her serving as executive director of a nonprofit organization, she said.
Selected by her fellow council members in January to serve as council president throughout 2015, Charmello said she had hoped she could finish out the year in that capacity.
“There really wasn’t a way I could stay until December,” she said.
As next in command, Council Vice President Nancy Drumm will take over as council president, according to Charmello.
The Woodbridge Township Democratic Committee advertised the opening for Charmello’s spot on the dais for the remaining two years of her term, and then met July 27 to hear speeches from three hopefuls who are vying for the post.
The candidates for appointment are Cory Spillar, fire official for the Avenel Fire Company; Jonathan Sternesky, who serves as legislative director for Assemblywoman Nancy Pinkin (D-Middlesex); and Don Bence, a real estate professional, according to Mayor John McCormac.
The committee is tasked with choosing one individual from the three to recommend to the council as Charmello’s replacement. The council was set to receive the committee’s recommendation and vote whether to accept it at the Aug. 4 council meeting, Charmello said.
The former council president noted that the committee’s decision would likely be difficult, because all three candidates are well qualified to fill her shoes.
McCormac praised Charmello’s work during her time on the council.
“In only four years, she made her presence felt in Woodbridge, particularly in the arts,” he said, adding that she came to the council as a member of the Steering Committee for arts in the township, and quickly went on to establish the Woodbridge Artisans Guild.
“She also worked tirelessly on the General Dynamics [industrial plant redevelopment] project to make sure residents’ concerns were heard,” McCormac said.
The site of the former plant is slated to become the Station Village at Avenel, a mixed-use project set to include residences, retail and a park, along with performance spaces and other arts-based features.
Construction is set to begin sometime next year.
“My hope that is something that I did a lot of work on will have a lasting impression,” she said of her work on the project with council colleagues, adding that she wishes she could be around to see it come to fruition. “I think it’s in a good place now.”
A township resident for 13 years, Charmello said now that she’s leaving, she is especially aware of all the great things in Woodbridge. She cited everything from garbage pickup to nightly summer concerts as things that are difficult to leave behind.
“Her presence on the council will be sorely missed,” McCormac said.