BY ERIKA NORTON
WEST MILFORD — Bettina Bieri officially resigned as West Milford Township Mayor on Monday morning, after 11 years in office.
In June, Bieri announced her intention to move to be with her family in South Carolina, where she is expecting her first grandchild to be born. She said she would officially send her letter of resignation to the township clerk’s office when she was leaving at the end of the month.
“I am literally driving South this morning, and as such, do hereby submit my formal letter of resignation as Mayor of West Milford Township,” Bieri wrote in her letter sent Monday morning. “It has truly been an honor and privilege to serve as Mayor for the past nearly eleven years."
Who will be acting mayor?
Bieri’s term would have ended in 2019. Because the mayor vacated the office before Sept. 1, residents will vote this November for who will serve out the rest of her term.
According to the township clerk’s office, under town law, in the event that the mayor’s office becomes vacant before Sept. 1, there are two options.
Option 1The first scenario is to have the highest ranking official serve as acting mayor. In this case, that would be the Council President Republican Tim Wagner.
Option 2The second option is to fill the vacancy through a political party nomination process.
Since Bieri was a Democrat, within 15 days after the occurrence of the vacancy, three names from the Democratic Party would be submitted to the council to consider filling the vacancy.
The council would then have 30 days after the occurrence of the vacancy to appoint one of the nominees as the successor.
According to Democratic County Committee Co-Chairperson CarLa Horton, the Democratic County Committee submitted three names to the council on Monday morning: former council candidate and Planning Board member Christopher Garcia, former Councilman Robert Nolan, and Alec Ofshinsky.
The council will decide on which option to pursue at their next scheduled workshop meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 5.
The chosen acting mayor will serve until November.
Special electionAccording to Horton, the Democratic County Committee has selected Christopher Garcia to be their mayoral candidate on the November ballot.
As of press time, the Republican County Committee has not officially chosen their mayoral candidate. Both Council President Tim Wagner and fellow Republican Councilman Lou Signorino have publicly shared their interest in running.
All party committees must file before 4 p.m. on Sept. 12 in order to have their mayoral candidate appear on the November ballot.