Westwood Town Council

Westwood, New Jersey has a form of city government with which many Americans may be unfamiliar. While New Jersey allows a variety of forms of municipal government, the Westwood Town Council model, known as the borough form of city government, is the most common form of local governance used in the state.

Under this town council system, the borough is served by a mayor and six borough Council members, all of whom are directly elected by the borough’s voters. The mayor serves for a four year term, while the Town Council members each serve three year terms. Two Borough Council seats are up for election each year, providing for staggered elections.

The current mayor of Westwood borough is John Birkner, Jr., a Democrat whose term expires at the end of 2011. As of 2008’s election cycle, the Republicans have firm control of the Town Council, and hold all six seats, despite the former Republican Mayor’s endorsement of the two Democratic candidates. Westwood’s ability to buck the national trend toward Democrats in the last election cycle was primarily the result of the Republicans’ nine point advantage in registration within the borough – though a significant portion of the area’s 57% independent vote obviously sided with the Republicans as well.

One of the few areas of New Jersey that leans toward the Republican Party, Westwood voted for George W. Bush in 2004. At the local level, however, recent years have seen several Democrats take positions on the Town Council, as well as currently occupying the mayor’s office – ensuring that the borough can never be labeled a strictly Republican stronghold.

As is true with most forms of municipal government, there has often been tension between Westwood’s mayors and the Town Council members. The recent in-fighting between the former Republican mayor and several Council members is just one of the more highly publicized instances in recent years.

Article was written by Jeffrey Frasco. Visit: http://www.westwoodopenyoureyes.com for more information about the Westwood Town Council.

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