Most people who hold a position of elective office in New Jersey cities and towns are, well, elected to those positions. Most, but not all.
Every year, some percentage of elected officeholders resign for one reason or another. When they do, state law holds that the remaining members of the board, council or committee in that municipality select a successor who shall hold the position until the next time elections are held.
This scenario has played out a number of times in the Bordentown area recently. Bordentown Regional Board of Education members Larry Braasch and Ryan Cody both resigned their seats on the board in 2023. Cody was replaced by Richard Shenowski, and Braasch by Raquel Parker. Shenowski was subsequently elected to serve the remainder of Cody’s former term, through the end of this year. Parker will have to run to keep her seat if she wants to remain on the board after this year.
Bordentown City and Bordentown Township have both welcomed new members to their governing bodies in 2024. In January, Kelly Lozito was selected by the township committee to succeed Steve Benowitz, who had stepped down on Dec. 31 due to illness.
Then in February, the city’s long-time board of commissioners member, James Lynch, resigned his position to spend more time with his family. Later that month, Mayor Jennifer Sciortino and Deputy Mayor Joe Myers announced that Heather Cheesman would join them on the three-member board, effective March 1.
Township Committee member Bill Grayson first joined the committee in a similar fashion in 2023, when he was appointed to complete the unexpired term of James Kostoplis, who resigned after being taking up the office of Burlington County Sheriff.
Grayson ran unopposed last fall, and started a fresh three-year term in January.
While Lozito is serving in an elected position for the first time, Cheesman previously sat on the city’s board of commissioners between 2009 and 2013. Each will have to decide if she wants to stand for election this November. In Lozito’s case, she would be running for a full-three year term; Cheesman would be running for the opportunity to complete Lynch’s term, set to end in 2025.
Though city elections are typically held in May, this one will indeed be scheduled for the November general election ballot. In both cases, other candidates will also be welcome to run for the seats.
Lozito resides in the Crystal Lake neighborhood with her husband, Bruce, and their two children. She served as vice chair of the township environmental commission from 2017 to 2020. She has also served on the township’s planning board.
A senior director with Bristol-Myers Squibb, Lozito has degrees from The College of New Jersey and Fairleigh Dickinson University. She is also a Girl Scout troop leader and a board member for Friends of White Hill Mansion.
Different township committee members serve as liaisons to various committees and organizations, and among Lozito’s assignments are liaison to the board of education as well as the parks and recreation committee.
“I try as much as I can to encourage and raise awareness for existing resources for kids,” Lozito told the Current (see sidebar.)
In choosing a person to succeed Lynch, Sciortino and Myers said in a statement that Cheesman had the respect of the community through the many contributions she has made over the years.
“There is no doubt she has the right combination of professional experience, record of public service, and knowledge of our city to hit the ground running for the next eight months. We welcome her to the governing body and look forward to working with her for the benefit of everyone who calls Bordentown home,” they wrote.
Cheesman was administered the oath of office at the monthly board of commissioners meeting on March 11. Each commissioner oversees a different city department, and so Cheesman has also assumed the role of director of public safety and affairs, previously held by Lynch.
“I want to thank the commissioners, as well as the residents who supported me, for their faith in my ability to rise to this occasion,” Cheesman said. “I’m looking forward to serving the city once again and working with Jen and Joe to ensure a smooth transition.”
Cheesman is a lifelong Bordentown resident and a former member of the Bordentown Regional Board of Education. She currently serves as a member of the Bordentown Sewerage Authority, as well as Bordentown City’s Economic Development Advisory Committee and Planning Board, the latter role of which she will have to relinquish due to her new role.
In her professional career, Cheesman got her start teaching in the public education system and serving youths in the state’s juvenile justice system.
For the last 15 years, she had served the Burlington County Clerk’s Office as Chief of Staff and later Deputy County Clerk.
In December, she stepped down from public service to take a position with Capital Health System as director of payroll.
Petitions to run in November’s special election will be available later this summer through the city clerk at Bordentown’s Municipal Building. Signed petitions will be due no later than 64 days before the Nov. 5 election, meaning they are due around the end of August.
The city has solicited formal guidance from the county clerk’s office on protocol and timing for the special election and will keep residents informed as soon as additional guidance is available.
