Mayors stress flexibility, thick skins, at Morristown talk

MEET THE MAYORS : Louise Murray of the League of Women Voters moderates panel (from left): Peter Mancuso (forme mayor) of Morris Township, Robert Conley of Madison, Tim Dougherty of Morristown, Frank Druetzler of Morris Plains and Roman Hirniak of Randolph. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
MEET THE MAYORS : Louise Murray of the League of Women Voters moderates panel (from left): Peter Mancuso (former mayor) of Morris Township, Robert Conley of Madison, Tim Dougherty of Morristown, Frank Druetzler of Morris Plains and Roman Hirniak of Randolph. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
0
MEET THE MAYORS : Louise Murray of the League of Women Voters moderates panel (from left): Peter Mancuso (forme mayor) of Morris Township, Robert Conley of Madison, Tim Dougherty of Morristown, Frank Druetzler of Morris Plains and Roman Hirniak of Randolph. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
MEET THE MAYORS : Louise Murray of the League of Women Voters moderates panel (from left): Peter Mancuso (forme mayor) of Morris Township, Robert Conley of Madison, Tim Dougherty of Morristown, Frank Druetzler of Morris Plains and Roman Hirniak of Randolph. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

By Kevin Coughlin

So you want to be a mayor?

Prepare to be on-call 24-7.  Keep your ears open. Toughen your hide. Develop a taste for humble pie. And you’ll do just fine.

Those tips are courtesy of five present and former local mayors, who shared their experiences at a forum hosted by the Morristown Area League of Women Voters on Tuesday at the Thomas Jefferson School in Morristown.

Moderated by League Vice President Louise Murray,  the forum featured Mayors Tim Dougherty of Morristown, Frank Druetzler of Morris Plains, Robert Conley of Madison, Roman Hirniak of Randolph, and Peter Mancuso, former mayor of Morris Township.

The gathering was rather sparsely attended–which is how Mayor Dougherty said he likes council meetings.

Small turnouts suggest things are running smoothly, he explained. He attempts to avert potential controversies by inviting the public to workshops and “charrettes.” Recent sessions have discussed streetscape plans for Washington Street and the redevelopment of Pioneer Park, he said.

“It really engages the public, and makes them feel like they are part of what’s going on,” Dougherty said.  Hiring talented staff never hurts, either. “You’re only as good as the people around you.”

His administration also plans to beef up its presence on Facebook, he said.

“Technology and social media are everywhere,” Dougherty said. “As communicators, we have to reach as many people as we can.”

That megaphone shouts both ways, of course. Mayors must be thick-skinned, especially during election seasons, the Morristown mayor said.

“Many people will test your patience, and say things that are untrue,” Dougherty said.

‘FLEXIBILITY MAKES GOOD POLITICAL PEOPLE’

The mayors agreed it’s a bad idea to grow attached to a “great idea,” because citizens don’t always see it that way.

In Madison, a proposal to combine a health center and affordable housing got shot down when residents asked about traffic, Mayor Conley said.

“We didn’t have a good answer for the traffic. Forty units was too much for one neighborhood,” he said.

Audience at Thomas Jefferson School listens to mayoral forum hosted by the local League of Women Voters. Photo by Kevin Coughlin
Audience at Thomas Jefferson School listens to mayoral forum hosted by the local League of Women Voters. Photo by Kevin Coughlin

Peter Mancuso entered politics in the 1970s to lead opposition to Route 24’s proposed pathway through Morris Township. A majority of residents felt otherwise. The highway proceeded.

While wishing he had prevailed, Mancuso said the episode taught him that an elected official’s job “is to reflect the will of the people….flexibility is what makes good political people.”

Public comments “play a dramatic role” in shaping Morristown’s redevelopment policy, Dougherty said.  When a builder sought permission for seven stories of apartments on DeHart Street, residents were adamant about sticking to the neighborhood’s five-story zoning.

The developer balked, so “we told him don’t build. We’ll make a park. He came around,” Dougherty said.

Redevelopment projects across town have sparked a drumbeat of public questions about traffic, convincing town hall to launch a comprehensive study this year, Dougherty added.

Morris Plains Mayor Frank Druetzler successfully pressed for a community center about 20 years ago, despite some pushback from the school board.

“Life wouldn’t be the same without that community center,” Druetzler said. “If I closed it tomorrow, there would be a revolution.”

Yet he could not garner support for what struck him as an equally desirable project: A seniors housing project at the intersection of Routes 53 and 202.  Angry residents thronged a public meeting.

“That was a rough two hours. I was perplexed. I went home that night and didn’t sleep too well. When I woke up, I said, ‘That was the end of the project,'” Druetzler said. More recently, residents have had second thoughts, he said.

“Times have changed. Sometimes an idea that gets beat up today may be a good idea years later.”

‘SWALLOW YOUR PRIDE’

Randolph Mayor Roman Hirniak said he’s surprised by the shelf life of some political battles.  Long after a proposed municipal pool sank, the issue continues to make waves.

“Elected officials have to make hard decisions. ‘Hard’ is another way of saying ‘unpopular.’ That pool was put to bed years ago. But it still touches people in a raw way. Folks find certain things to be very passionate about,” Hirniak said.

Mayors need to pay attention to that, he said.

“It’s up to elected officials to be sensitive, to be good listeners,” Hirniak said. “You should be able to swallow your pride and say, ‘I was wrong,’ and back away from an issue. That’s tricky for a lot of people. I would say that’s the most important thing for mayors.”

Madison’s Mayor Conley, whose full-time job also is in the borough, agreed with the others that the mayoralty is a 24-7 responsibility. He insisted he enjoys being approached on the street by residents.

“If you don’t like to hear it,” Conley said, “then it’s time to do something else.”

LEAVE A REPLY