Retired Firefighter, Longtime Administrator Appointed To Cherry Hill Council

CHERRY HILL, NJ — A retired firefighter and a consultant with an administrative background were appointed Monday to fill the Cherry Hill Township Council's two vacant seats.

Daniel V. DiRenzo, Jr., and Jill Hulnick now hold the seats formerly held by Dave Fleisher and Brian Bauerle. Fleisher was elected mayor last November and resigned from council Jan. 2 to begin his mayoral term. He then made Bauerle his chief of staff.

DiRenzo and Hulnick will fill the vacancies until November's elections, when voters will decide who will finish out the council terms. Fleisher's term was set to expire at the end of 2025, while Bauerle's runs through 2027.

DiRenzo served the Cherry Hill Fire Department for 25 years, rising to the positions of captain and CFO. He has also been part of various local boards and commissions, including the township Zoning Board.

In recent years, DiRenzo was a student support supervisor at Cherry Hill High School West.

"I learned a great deal about social interaction with a diverse student population, which I hope to put to good use all over Cherry Hill," DiRenzo said after getting sworn in at Monday's council meeting.

Hulnick is an independent consultant who works with nonprofits, businesses and government organizations. She recently served as chief impact officer for BBYO — a nonprofit serving Jewish teens.

Previously, Hulnick performed several roles in educational administration, including assistant deputy commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Education from 2015-18. She's also an active volunteer who serves on the Jewish Federation's Planning and Visioning Committee and the Jewish Community Foundation’s Grantmaking Committee.

"Jill is an accomplished professional with experience working in business, government and nonprofit organizations," said Council Member Sangeeta Doshi. "In addition to her professional background, she is very active in our community."

How They Were Appointed

Under state law, municipal officeholders appoint successors when fellow elected leaders can't finish their terms. But first, they must receive nominations from the local committee of the political party that the former officeholders represented.

Fleisher and Bauerle are both Democrats. So the Cherry Hill Democratic Committee met Jan. 10 and submitted three nominees for each seat.

The committee nominated DiRenzo, Ted Kail and Lorraine Maitland to replace Fleisher on the council. Hulnick, Gerry Greene and Anna Postiloff contended for Bauerle's former seat.

Council members voted unanimously Monday to appoint DiRenzo and Hulnick. After getting sworn in during the meeting, they took the dais with fellow council members for the rest of the meeting. But they abstained from voting — on the advice of Municipal Attorney Cosmas Diamantis — because they had less time to review and discuss agenda items than the rest of the council.

Cherry Hill's Township Council returned to full occupancy at seven members.

Previously, Fleisher and Bauerle served as the council president and vice president. Council members voted Jan. 2 to appoint William Carter, III, to the council presidency and Michele Golkow as vice president.