By VASHTI HARRIS
Staff Writer
SPOTSWOOD–The oath of office has been administered, the gavel has been passed and the elected candidates gave their thanks as Mayor Edward T. Seely and Councilmembers Jose Rivera and John F. Melillo were officially sworn into the Spotswood Borough Council.
Municipal Clerk Patricia DeStefano lead the inauguration/reorganization meeting on Jan. 4, starting off with Rev. Monsignor Joseph Curry and Rev. Keith Schneider giving brief invocations at the Spotswood Municipal Building.
Melillo was the first to be sworn in, followed by Rivera; both recited the oath of office and were applauded.
“I think that [Seely] is going to be a terrific mayor. My goal as a councilperson moving forward is to support that position and support the residents of the town. I am very happy to have Jose and John joining the dais. I think that there is a new energy and there is a new momentum here and I am really looking forward to working with everyone on the dais together to move the town forward,” Councilwoman Margaret Drozd said.
Accompanied by his family, Seely recited his oath and was officially proclaimed the new mayor of the Borough of Spotswood after having served as a councilman on the board, replacing Nicholas Poliseno as mayor.
“I want to thank everybody, especially my family and my extended family -without their help and their support this could not have happened. There is a great many people in the audience who have been behind me 100 percent all the way and I aim to make sure that they are proud of the fact that they [chose me],” Seely said.
After the mayor and council members were swore in, Councilman Ted Ricci was elected as the new council president. He recited the oath of office and was given a gavel.
Contact Vashti Harris at vharris@gmnews.com.
