Longtime Councilman Christopher Bobbitt was elected mayor during the annual township reorganization meeting on Jan. 1.
Bobbitt, who takes the helm from Councilwoman Patricia Hendricks Farmer, is expected to serve the next two years in the role.
Under Lawrence Township’s council-manager form of government, day-to-day municipal operations are overseen by Municipal Manager Kevin Nerwinski. The mayor is chosen by a vote of the Township Council, with the member receiving the most votes elected to fill the role.
In the council-manager form of government, the mayor serves primarily as the ceremonial head of the municipality and presiding officer of the governing body.
The mayor chairs council meetings, represents the township at public events, signs ordinances and resolutions, and votes as one member of the council.
Administrative authority rests with the municipal manager, who supervises department heads and prepares and administers the budget. The mayor does not direct staff or manage municipal operations.
The township’s form of government became a point of contention during the vote to select Bobbitt as mayor. Councilwoman Olympia I’Liou Perry abstained and then abruptly announced her resignation, drawing gasps from the audience.
Sources told the Lawrence Gazette that members of the council and other township officials had received no advance notice of Perry’s decision.
In announcing her resignation, Perry stated her opposition to the current form of government. “I no longer believe council should elect the mayor of our town,” she said. “I believe the mayor should be elected by the citizens of Lawrence Township. This is long overdue.”
She added that she would like to see residents challenge the local and county Democratic caucus (Perry and the members of the council are all Democrats) “to stop being lukewarm and demand accountability and integrity.”
Bobbitt’s selection as mayor came after he and Councilman Kames Kownacki were sworn into new four-year terms after being re-elected in November.
Amanda Santos, who was also elected in November, was sworn into the two-year unexpired term vacated by John Ryan when he resigned from council last year.
In his comments after being elected mayor, Bobbitt quoted the late Congressman Augustus Hawkins, “a fellow African American of mixed-race ancestry from Los Angeles.”
“The congressman once remarked that leadership belongs not to the loudest, not to those who beat the drums or blow the trumpets, but to those who day in and day out, in all seasons, work for the practical realization of a better world,” Bobbitt said.
He said he shared the quote, “because it states more clearly than I ever could one of the fundamental principles of an elected official: to keep showing up, engaged and willing to put in the effort to make positive changes for our community.”
He also said the council must keep all residents in mind when making decisions.
“It’s not only the loudest 24 people at a meeting, but also the other 32,976 residents,” he said. “It can be difficult at the moment, but our community is best served when we think of what’s fair to all and not just what two or three people are saying.”
“When we serve honorably as council members, we don’t surprise each other, the manager, clerk, or staff at a meeting to embarrass or score points,” Bobbitt added. “We can have disagreements and even not like each other, but at the end of the day, we all better have the interests of this town at heart as we do our work. That’s what the residents expect from us.”
Th emayor said that some immediate challenges that will have to be addressed in the coming months include: the use of the Lawrence Community Center; the provision of fire services; improvements in the delivery of municipal services; and dealing with problems associated with Trenton Water Works.
Bobbitt has lived in Lawrence for 21 years and has been a councilman since 2015. He previously as mayor once, from 2018 to 2019. He is a licensed architect with his own office and has been practicing architecture for about 25 years.
One of the first orders of business for the four remaining member of the Township Council will be selecting a replacement for Perry, whose resignation was e ffective Jan. 31. Within 15 days of that date, the Lawrence Democratic municipal committee will have to submit three nominees to the Township Council.
The Council then has 30 days from the date the vacancy occurs to appoint one of those nominees by majority vote at a public meeting.
Mayor Christopher Bobbitt takes the oath of office as administered by State Senator Shirley Turner while his wife, Tiffany, holds the Bible. (Facebook photo.),
