A new face joined the Cherry Hill council at last night’s reorganization meeting as Carole Roskoph was sworn in for her first term on the governing body.
A teacher at Cherry Hill High School West and a member of the Cherry Hill Civic Association, Roskoph was overwhelmed with emotion as she gave a speech before a large crowd at town hall.
“This moment today, right now, is a moment I’ll remember forever,” she said.
Roskoph was joined by her family and councilman John Amato as she was sworn in.
Also, among the many people in the crowd were a number of Roskoph’s students, both past and present. Roskoph spoke of how she was running for the children of Cherry Hill during her campaign.
“I want this to be a place they can come home to,” she said.
Councilmen David Fleisher and Jim Bannar and Councilwoman Susan Shin Angulo were also sworn in to new terms on council. The trio ran with Roskoph under the same Democratic ticket in November, sweeping the election.
The roles of council president and council vice president will also stay the same in 2014, as David Fleisher will remain the president and Sara Lipsett the vice president.
In Other News:
• In addition to the swearing in of the four elected members of council, Mayor Chuck Cahn offered his vision of 2014 to the crowd by re-stating the township’s achievements in 2013 and giving a brief synopsis of what people should watch for in the coming year.
He stated that the line of communication between the township and its residents and businesses has allowed Cherry Hill to progress in many different areas.
“We’ve begun to engage our citizens and businesses in an unprecedented way,” Cahn said.
He also emphasized that the township has been so successful attracting residents and businesses because “business people are running the government, not politicians.”
• A moment of silence was offered for former councilwoman Joyce Walker. Walker, the first African-American woman to serve on council, died on Saturday Dec. 28 at the age of 60.
Walker served on council from 1998 through 2005 and was its vice president from 2002 to 2005. After serving on council, she was the chairwoman of the Board of Fire Commissioners. Beyond Walker’s achievements on council, Roskoph mentioned that she was a great motivator and helped out during her election campaign.
Former Cherry Hill Mayor Susan Bass Levin worked with Walker during her term from 1998 to 2002 and described how she saw Walker’s spirit in the current members of council.
• In addition to swearing in the new members of council, Council also approved a long list of professional appointments for 2014 and approved statutory resolutions for the beginning of the year that are required by the state.
