Summit Mayor, Council Clash Over BOE Appointments, Maple Street Ordinance

SUMMIT, NJ — A series of disagreements over how key decisions are made in Summit came into focus during the June 3 Common Council meeting, as Mayor Elizabeth Fagan and members of the council clashed over recent Board of Education appointments and a Maple Street outdoor dining ordinance.

At the center of the discussion were two recent Board of Education appointments made by the mayor, Kimberly Gianis and Jenny Hoff, both described as dedicated Summit residents and parents committed to supporting local schools.

Fagan defended the selections during the meeting, saying criticism of their qualifications was politically driven.

“To attack their qualifications is purely political,” she said.

While the mayor emphasized the qualifications of her appointees, council members focused less on the individuals themselves and more on the process used to make the appointments, pointing to concerns about communication and engagement with the school district.

Council Member Jaclyn Lasaracina said the issue was not about qualifications, but about how the appointments were handled.

“No one has questioned the qualifications of the appointees,” Lasaracina said. “What I did question was what I consider to be a failure of proper process and engagement… that is put into our district bylaws for a reason.”

The discussion over appointments comes amid a broader debate in Summit over how authority is exercised between the mayor’s office, the council, and local boards.

A second major point of contention during the meeting centered on a Maple Street pedestrian plaza ordinance tied to outdoor dining. Fagan said she vetoed the measure, citing concerns from city professionals about safety and legal review, and argued the council moved forward without proper alignment.

“The council majority knew exactly what they were doing when they voted for an ordinance that could not legally be signed off on by our engineers, our public safety authorities, or the mayor,” she said. “You’re all smart enough to know that what you passed is illegal and fundamentally unworkable.”

Council members pushed back on that characterization, saying interpretations of the ordinance differed and pointing to similar outdoor dining setups in other communities.

Lasaracina said staff had worked with council members over several months on the proposal and emphasized that reasonable people could disagree on interpretation and process.

At times during the meeting, tensions also surfaced over speaking time limits, after the mayor continued beyond the standard three-minute comment period. Council President Claire Toth allowed her to finish speaking, while Council Member Jamel Boyer said the rule was applied inconsistently in that moment.

“I think it’s highly disrespectful to do that to the mayor,” Boyer said.

Lasaracina added that council work has also included budget discussions, traffic improvements, and playground investments, pointing to ongoing legislative activity beyond the disputes.

“If y’all have three minutes, I think we can have three minutes,” she said, referring to the speaking time limit.