Three New Members Sworn in at Aberdeen Council Meeting

Aberdeen Township welcomed three new members to the council at their reorganization meeting Monday afternoon.

Harvey Brenner, 63, Robert Swindle, 66, and Concetta Kelley, 65, were sworn in by Township Clerk Karen Ventura before taking their official seats with the council.

filled the seats previously held by Councilwoman Wilhelmina Gumbs, Deputy Mayor Vincent Vinci and Councilman Owen Drapkins. The decided not to seek re-election in November.

"It's nice to leave some footprints and hopefully I, like my predecessors, will leave some important ones and bigs ones," Brenner said.

Incumbent Councilman Gregory Cannon, 28, was also sworn in by Ventura. Cannon joined the council two years ago when another member resigned, making the coming term his first full one.

Councilwoman Margaret Montone was appointed deputy mayor during the reorganization meeting. Mayor Fred Tagliarini expressed his confidence in Montone's abilities to fill the role of deputy mayor.

"She's a senior member, we took a hard look at that. She certainly has all the qualities needed for that position," Tagliarini said.

Tagliarini is also confident, he said, that the new council will hit the ground running in the new year, focusing on redevelopment, infastructure and preserving land while being fiscally responsible.

"As you can see the 2012 council will not skip a beat as we will take on the agenda of redevelopment, preservation of open space, the continuance of road programs, and we'll continue the growth of our business community," Tagliarini said. "Today does mark a new chapter in the book called Aberdeen for our new town council"