Lawshe Starts New Job, Council Considers Options

Councilman Gordon Lawshe's swift exit from Caldwell's governing body last week has left the mayor shaking her head and other members of council still unsure what to do next.

In a span of just 10 days, Lawshe was recommended for a role at the Caldwell Community Center, approved by the governing body to be hired for the position during Tuesday night's council meeting, officially offered the job on Wednesday before he accepted it and tendered his resignation as councilman on Thursday.

Lawshe, who was in the second year of his term, completes the transition on Monday when he begins the full-time job as the community center's new sports programs/membership director.

The remaining council members are now considering if the vacant seat should be filled on a temporary basis through the Republican County Committee until the winning candidate in November's special election is certified as the replacement for Lawshe's unexpired three-year term.

That next step, however, hasn't yet been determined.

"I can't answer that question at this point," Councilman Joseph Norton said Friday. "Everything happened relatively fast. It was presented to us at a personnel committee meeting and then we voted on it a couple of days later at the council meeting. Until we have an opportunity to circle up and discuss it, I'm not really sure what we're going to do next."

According to Essex County Clerk Chris Durkin, if the council chooses to temporarily fill the position, the Republican County Committee will meet and submit three names for the governing body to consider within 30 days.

If the governing body chooses none of those candidates, the Republican County Committee will have 15 days to name the replacement, Durkin said.

The replacement can also appear on the special election ballot as the Republican candidate, Durkin said. Candidates must be submitted for the election by Sept. 15.

"We have the ability to appoint someone by resolution to hold that position from now until the election and I think we should do that," Council President Ann Dassing said Monday. "I think if you're interested in becoming a councilman, this will be the chance to kind of dip your toe in the water to get a feel for it. It's almost like taking it for a test drive."

When the governing body voted 4-to-1—with Councilman Kay Slattery opposed—to hire Lawshe at the community center, Councilman Peter Murray said during Tuesday night's meeting that filling the position for the remainder of Lawshe's term would be done through the Republican County Committee.

It wasn't clear to many council members until the next day that a special election would be needed.

"I'm a bit of a political novice," said Councilman Richard Hauser, who, like Murray, is in his first year on the governing body. "I was not aware that we would need a special election."

According to Durkin, the special election is needed since Lawshe's resignation is prior to Sept. 1—a date that was not immediately clear to council members, Norton said.

"The only question left out there was the date of which a resignation requires a special election. That's where the misconnect happened," he said. "I didn't have any preconceived idea. Everything happened so fast. I don't think anyone had an opportunity to really gauge what was going to happen."

It's a quick turnaround that Mayor Susan Gartland has questioned. 

Gartland, who was ill and unable to attend last week's council meeting, can't remember the last time a special election was needed in the borough.

The Democrats last filled an unexpired term when Richard Brennan was appointed as the replacement for Councilman James Gates, who resigned two years ago in December—after the deadline for a special election.

"[The Republicans] are entitled to fill the position on a temporary basis, but I haven't given it much thought," Gartland said. "If they put names in and the council votes, whether I want it or not, it's going to happen. I have been there as a Democrat and we have filled the position. I believe they are entitled to do that."

But the mayor still wondered why Lawshe's appointment to the community center had to be done so quickly.

"For some reason, there was an urgency to offer the position and have it taken by Aug. 15," Gartland said. "I'm not sure why that was needed."

Dassing, who was also not aware a special election would be needed, said the quick turnaround was primarily because of the critical need to increase membership at the community center.

"We just were watching those numbers drop and we felt we needed to do something as soon as possible to try to salvage what we could out of 2010," Dassing said.

"We were not really cognizant of the date when he was resigning or that it would trigger an election. We were just focused on those numbers and said, 'boy, we really need to do something about this.'"

The community center position had been open since April when the former employee, who had been on long-term disability, was terminated.

However, the former sports and recreation director role has now been expanded to include spearheading the effort to increase membership, according to Rob Paterson, the community center's new director.

Lawshe, who had 10 years of sales experience as an assistant circulation director for The Star-Ledger, will earn $49,000 for the full-time position that requires "on-demand" hours and not a routine schedule, Paterson said.

Paterson, who said his practice is to not comment specifically on employees, stressed that the position had already been in the budget and actually includes more responsibilities than the previous employee handled for the same compensation.

"There was no one actually working in either of those positions and that's what hurt us. I said, 'let's combine the two and find someone who can do both,'" said Paterson, who said Lawshe was the only candidate of six applicants who was from the West Essex area.

"I picked a candidate who fit what I was looking for. I didn't care about the person's name. I didn't care who they were. I picked the best candidate who can help me reach my end goal and that's increasing revenue."

However, exact details of the community center's decline are unclear.

Borough Administrator Paul Carelli said he's in the process of determining the exact amount of revenue that has been lost over the last several years.

In addition, Carelli and Paterson are trying to create a universal system to measure membership. Carelli provided the example that a family membership may include three or even nine people.

Paterson prefers to break it down by "paying units."

"There's many ways you can look at membership," Paterson said. "I look at it as a business. I look at it as the number of paying units, not the number of heads. You have teen members. Do you count them? They aren't paying full price. I look at paid family memberships and that's where we've gone down significantly. That's where we need to increase our membership."

Lawshe will also be expected to build corporate membership, an area the center currently has none of, Paterson said.

While Norton will miss Lawshe by his side on the dais, he wished his former running mate luck in the new venture.

"I wish Gordon the best in his new position," Norton said. "He made a judgement call of what he thought was best and in the best interest of the borough and he's done nothing but that since I've met him. If he felt it was better at this point in his life to help the borough in that capacity as opposed to serving on the council, I wish him well."

Dassing, who is the Republican party's candidate for mayor, said since she and fellow GOP candidates Tom O'Donnell and John Coyle are currently running unopposed in November's election, it may make for an "attractive" opportunity for a resident to run in a "not as intense campaign."

"I think there is a sort of silver lining where we may end up with the cream of the crop," Dassing said. "Someone who may be interested in the council, but isn't sure if they're ready to make a three-year commitment, may be out there and step up to the plate."