Hightstown Borough’s new mayor and two Hightstown Borough Council members were sworn into office at the Borough Council’s reorganization meeting Jan. 3 at the Hightstown Engine Co. No. 1 firehouse.
Susan Bluth, who has served on the Hightstown Borough Council since 2012, was sworn in as mayor for a four-year term. Incumbent Borough Councilman Joshua Jackson and newly elected Borough Councilman Todd Frantz were also sworn into office for three-year terms.
Jackson was appointed to serve as Hightstown Borough Council president.
The Hightstown Borough Council presented proclamations to former Mayor Lawrence Quattrone and former Borough Councilman Steve Misiura for their service. Quattrone served two terms as mayor and Misiura served three terms on the governing body.
The Borough Council also adopted several resolutions appointing its professional staff and Borough officials. The Council approved its meeting schedule for 2023, and appointed volunteer members to assorted advisory boards, commissions and committees.
In her mayor remarks, Bluth said she never imagined that she would be the mayor of Hightstown Borough. It has been an “amazing journey,” she said.
Bluth recounted her path to the Borough Council and to the mayor’s seat, beginning with leading the charge to reduce the new property assessments on the Wyckoff’s Mill condominium complex. She and her neighbors were unhappy with the new assessments and the property tax increases.
“I led a large group of homeowners to a Borough Council meeting to protest the large increase in our property taxes. Of course, my impassioned plea to the Council did not result in a decrease in our taxes,” Bluth said.
“But after that night, which was the first time that I had attended a Borough Council meeting, a fire was lit in me. I kept coming to the meetings,” she said.
Bluth said she was invited to join the Hightstown Democratic Club, and she accepted it. She said she continued to attend the Borough Council meetings, and was asked if she would like to run for office.
“I ran, I was elected, and I have been on the Council since then. Now, Hightstown’s residents have given me the privilege of serving as their mayor. I am deeply grateful for the trust that has been placed in me,” she said.
Bluth said she cherishes the relationships that she has forged with Mercer County and state officials, and hopes to strengthen them.
Wrapping up her remarks, Bluth praised Quattrone and Misiura. She told Quattrone that she hoped to be able to serve Hightstown Borough as well as he did.