New Haddon Township Commissioner Sworn In To Replace Dougherty

HADDON TOWNSHIP, NJ - Last year, Ryan Linhart ran for a spot on the Haddon Township Board of Commissioners. Although he failed in his attempt to unseat Jim Mulroy, Linhart made it to the board one year later.

Linhart was sworn in as the newest member of the board on Monday, the Courier Post reports. He assumes the seat vacated by Paul Dougherty, who resigned from the board last month. A special election for the seat will take place in May.

Linhart, a financial analyst at the University of Pennsylvania, was on the Haddon Township Shade Tree Commission from September 2011 through November 2012, according to his Linkedin profile.

He has a Master’s Degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Bachelor’s Degree from Rutgers University. He has also volunteered for the Delaware River Port Authority and was the chair for the Committee to Rehabilitate the New Jersey Avenue Park from 2015-17.

Linhart challenged Mulroy in last year’s special election to fill the seat that formerly belonged to John Foley. Mulroy was successful in that non-partisan election. As Haddon Township’s newest commissioner, Linhart will oversee the township’s finances, according to the Courier Post.

Dougherty resigned from his seat in October, one day before pleading guilty to an accusation charging him with third-degree conspiracy to confer an unlawful benefit on a public official. He will be sentenced next month.

Dougherty, who was a commissioner from 2007 but will now be barred from holding public office in New Jersey permanently, admitted that he referred a police officer to a law firm to sue the township, despite the clear conflict of interest.

Dougherty has also been accused of leaving the scene of an accident in which he rear-ended another car on July 19, according to nj.com. The case was moved out of Camden County to avoid any possible conflicts of interest.

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