UPDATE: Dems Submit Candidates to Replace Vaughan
Former congressional candidate Douglas Herbert, along with Eck and Wecker on the list.
Just one day after losing his bid for re-election, Nelson Vaughan resigned as Chatham Borough mayor Wednesday afternoon, effective immediately.
Vaughan told Patch he cleared out his office Wednesday and turned in his letter of resignation at 3 p.m. to Borough Clerk Susan Caljean. The resignation went into effect at the close of business.
Vaughan's resignation would leave Council President Jim Lonergan as the acting mayor. However, Lonergan left for vacation on Wednesday, leaving Councilman Bruce Harris, who beat Vaughan in Tuesday's election, as the longest-serving councilman currently in the borough and the acting mayor until Lonergan returns.
Ed DiFiglia, chairman of the Chatham Borough Democratic Committee, said Thursday morning he heard of Vaughan's resignation through a "third party" and not from Vaughan himself.
A statement from DiFiglia released Thursday afternoon read in part that the resignation "caught many members of our community by surprise, but no one was more suprised than the members of the Chatham Borough Democrats. Most of the Committee members learned of his resignation via third parties or the Alternative Press, who broke the story early last evening."
"This is not a situation that the Committee had ever hoped to find itself," the statement went on to read. It concluded by thanking Vaughan for his service and wishing him luck in his future endeavors.
DiFiglia said he submitted the names of three candidates to fill the remainder of Vaughan's term to the Borough Clerk Thursday morning. The nominees are Nicholas Eck, Marcy Wecker and Douglas Herbert.
Wecker was Vaughan's runningmate for Chatham Borough Council in the campaigns, but family obligations prevented her from actively campaigning. She missed the Candidates Forum put forth by the League of Women Voters in October. She said she is "honored" to be named as a possible interim mayor.
"I think Mayor Vaughan did a wonderful job," she said. "It's a sad day when any mayor resigns, especially Mayor Vaughan because he put the town first."
Wecker also said she respects Vaughan's decision to step down. "It's not so easy to volunteer as a public official or as a candidate. These people are all volunteers and they put themselves out there to do the best for Chatham. It's much easier for people to criticize and not put themselves out there," she said.
Herbert is Wecker's husband and ran for U.S. Congress in 2010 against Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen, who has held the seat since 1995. Both Wecker and Herbert are practicing attorneys.
Nicholas Eck currently serves as a volunteer on the borough's Communications Committee and was a key figure in getting the borough's new website off the ground. He said via email Thursday that he was on vacation and was not available for further comment until Monday.
The council will interview the candidates and select one to serve as mayor for the rest of the year.
Vaughan said he didn't want to be a "lame duck" before Harris is sworn in as the borough's new mayor in January.
Vaughan also said he wanted to spend more time with his family before his first grandchild is born next month.
"If you've ever been a first-time prospective grandfather, you'd understand what that entails," Vaughan said.
Vaughan said leaving his post was "like a burden being lifted," and "as a lame duck mayor, I wouldn't have been able to do any good for the borough anyway."
Harris said the news of Vaughan's resignation came as "a total surprise" to him. "I don't really understand why he would resign and not serve out the remainder of his term. ... It's never happened before, as far as I know," he said.
Patch will continue to update this story.
Glen Walker
7:06 pm on Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Wow, some example this shows. Pathetic.
Andrew
7:15 pm on Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Disappointing. Hopefully Mr. Harris can show true leadership.
caryn
8:05 pm on Wednesday, November 9, 2011
More time with his family? Isn't the guy retired anyway?
Pretty lame. He's just being a big baby. He didn't win, so he's taking his ball and going home.
Chatham has quite obviously made the right choice by sending him packing.
ChathamNJ
8:09 pm on Wednesday, November 9, 2011
What would he have done if he was re-elected? Why run again if he wanted to spend more time with his family? He ran on the premise that he was a full-time mayor. Clearly did not take the high road on the way out.
BandannaMan
8:09 pm on Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Geez - this is pathetic - this guy was an elected official?
Ann Ciccarelli
8:13 pm on Wednesday, November 9, 2011
So sad....what a sore loser!
R. Swanson
8:52 pm on Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Very strange. Doesn't make sense. As a lame duck, it's not like he was going to be making major policy decisions or working 18 hour days on the transition. His reasons are his own, but the stated reason is suspect. Seems he wasn't feeling the love anymore and decided to bail. Makes you wonder about his commitment to a second term. Chatham made the right choice.
ro
9:45 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
hey Swanson do you still live in Chatham? I think we should all move on, and thank Nelson for his efforts. As far as commitment, i certainly feel Nelson had it and should be thanked for his time as Mayor. Iam a republican not that matters,but if you remember there was a change when we had all repulicans on the council and then the dems took over and I believe the town elected its 2nd dem Mayor.Lets all move ahead and be positive, with the change and now its HaRRIS TURN TO SEE WHAT HE CAN DO, HOPE HE CAN KEEP ON THE bORO EMPLOYS WHO ARE DOING A GREAT JOB.
Anon Ymous
10:00 pm on Wednesday, November 9, 2011
This town needs serious change. We moved here 12 years ago because of its wonderful reputation - but after living here, it is obvious that the town is managed inefficiently. From the limiting garbage bag policy to the ridiculously high permit fees to poor response to the recent storm issues to hiring questionable personnel serving in empowered positions, the Borough’s reputation is no longer a positive one. I only hope that Mayor Harris wasn't part of the problem with all of his years on Council. Enough is enough. This town needs to get back to what made it great.
Mark Lee
10:18 pm on Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Hopefully with the change of leadership, Mr Harris and the board will pursue the initiative to combine the Chatham's as the voters of the "Princetons" voted to do this week.
Andrew
10:30 pm on Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Thank you Mark. I know how to get that movement started there is a NJ group all for consolidations.
BlueCollarBob
8:27 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
Now that he is not going to be so busy running Chatham, maybe he can spend some time working on the outside of his house ...its a mess
R. Swanson
9:25 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
Amen to that. If he wants a Greener Chatham, he can start by cleaning up that Superfund site.
Captain Jack
8:44 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
The new regime should be challenged to consolidate the 2 towns, let's see if they have the guts to do it.
godlessheathen
9:19 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
well this is what made chatham great, judging and nitpicking anonymously. I don't blame Nelson for stepping out rather than listening to this prattle. if you want career politician you got it in harris. I happen to think Nelson was the best kind of politician, one who did the job even though he didn't like it and knew when to get out.
ChathamNJ
9:29 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
Please explain how it makes him a good politician to quit before his term is up. You state that he did not like the job, then why did he run again? Your argument has no logic behind it.
ro
9:33 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
MR. hARRIS AS mAYOR WE WILL SEE, NELSON HAS EVER RIGHT TO DO WHAT HE DID, I WONDER THOSE WITH THE NEG COMMENTS WERE EVER POSITIVE. If yo do not like the town you have a choice,run for council, or move. Living in town since 1950, i have seen alot of change, some for the better and some not. We have a a great town and a place to be proud of.I wish mr Harris good luck he has a great staff in town hall to work with and i only hope they all stay.
ChathamNJ
9:51 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
ro - The issue is not whether people like Chatham, it is why would Vaughn resign with 6 weeks left. Now the town has to go through the trouble of selecting and swearing in a new mayor.
As far as your statement - "run for council or move", that is ridiculous. People can support change by electing new officials, which is exactly what happened here. BTW - I did not have any complaints about Vaughn's tenure, just his early resignation.
Dr. Joseph J. Murphy
10:01 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
Regardless of his reasons for resigning, I think Mr. Vaughan truly tried to do a good job as Mayor while in office and took the job very seriously. We shouild thank him for his years of service to Chatham.
I believe that Mr. Harris will do a fine job as mayor and continue to ensure that Chatham is a fantastic place to live and work. I congratulate him on his election and wish both men well.
ro
10:02 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
he has the right to do it ,and i believe the council pre. takes over since he is gone until Bruce starts his 4 years.We all voted or those who did,now we need to get behind our elected officals.
llbxy
10:21 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
The Borough Democratic Committee has to select three nominees for a replacement mayor and present them to the Council for a final selection. Mr. Vaughan could have saved everyone a lot of time and energy by just sticking it out for six more weeks.
FormerFanwoodian
11:21 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
Nelson, Nelson, Nelson...you haven't changed since high school.
R. Swanson
11:46 am on Thursday, November 10, 2011
Wecker, Herbert, & Eck are all fine citizens, but this is so ridiculous. The Council has to go through an interview process and then select one to preside over 2 Council meetings between now and the end of the year? How silly - just let the Council President preside over Council meetings until Harris is sworn in.
Fred
4:34 pm on Thursday, November 10, 2011
Looks like Mr. Vaughan started his political career on the wrong foot (kitchen cabinet, purge of volunteers, gag order, etc) and ended it on the same foot. Any good he may have done is overshadowed by these actions. Too bad he didn't just take a vacation or stop coming to meetings after he lost the election (like a recent Democratic councilman did) and save the staff and council from wasting time to appoint someone to a ceremonial position for a few weeks during the holidays.
BlueCollarBob
6:13 pm on Thursday, November 10, 2011
"lame" yes
"duck" no
Rev. Susan Gillespie
3:07 pm on Friday, November 11, 2011
Wow. I was surprised and disappointed by the resignation, but you folks picking on his home and family must sure be a delight to serve as a public official. Why would anyone run, in order to be treated like that? You have small lives if you think that is civil discussion. Shameful.
llbxy
10:10 am on Sunday, November 13, 2011
I don't see any comments about his family.
BlueCollarBob
3:21 pm on Friday, November 11, 2011
We pay considerably high property taxes in the boro..When soemone lets their home fall into disrepair and become an eyesore it causes the homes around it to decrease in value as well yet their taxes remain the same....it shows lack of class and consideration for your neighbors..case closed
Rev. Susan Gillespie
3:28 pm on Friday, November 11, 2011
I'm sorry, but I believe "classiness" and "consideration" involve far more than lawn care, and the comments above showed no class or consideration. The man put himself out there and did a lot for his neighbors. If you don't like his policies, contribute to the discussion. If you just don't like him, to comment with an alias is on the level of 3rd grade. Some third-graders are kinder.
BlueCollarBob
4:04 pm on Friday, November 11, 2011
IT GOES BEYOND LAWN CARE..."TAKE CARE OF YOUR OWN BEFORE YOU TRY TAKING CARE OF OTHERS".....FRANCES MARION --THE SWAMP FOX
Tiger Mom
9:53 pm on Sunday, November 20, 2011
What I don't understand is what he wrote in his letter, about how Chatham has shown "extreme tolerance" in electing Harris. Huh? Towards what or whom?