Councilmembers Kareem Pritchett and Steve Steglik were sworn-in, and councilmember Kurt Folcher was selected as mayor.
The Mt. Laurel Township Municipal Building was packed with members of the public this week for the swearing-in ceremony of two new members of council and new mayor.
With every seat filled well before a 7 p.m. start time, members of the public resorted to standing along the walls of the courtroom, and even then, many were relegated to peering through the courtroom’s open double doors to view the ceremony from the building’s lobby.
Yet once the meeting finally did get underway, the crowd watched as newly elected Democrats Kareem Pritchett and Stephen Steglik were sworn-in to their seats on council, and incumbent Republican Councilman Kurt Folcher was selected and sworn-in as mayor for the year ahead.
Pritchett and Steglik were sworn-in by Democratic New Jersey 7th Legislative District Assemblywoman Carol Murphy, while Folcher was sworn-in as mayor by Republican Burlington County Sheriff Jean Stanfield.
With that, Mt. Laurel Township Council officially moved from a council where all five members were Republicans to a bipartisan council where Republicans hold three seats to the Democrats’ two seats.
That split stems from the election of Democrats Pritchett and Steglik this past November, who unseated former Republican Mayor Rich Van Noord and Republican Deputy Mayor Dennis Riley.
The Mt. Laurel Democratic Club has referred to the election of Pritchett and Steglik as “historic,” noting that Pritchett is the first African-American to serve on council, while Steglik is the youngest person at age 28.
Pritchett is a state corrections officer and an instructor at the state’s police academy, while Steglik is a social media designer working at the University of Pennsylvania.
Folcher works as vice president of investments and retirement services at Princeton Financial Partners.
After their swearing-in and toward the end of the business portion of the meeting, each of the three men offered words about the evening and their positions on council.
For Steglik, he wanted council to become an example of disregarding political party affiliations and to lead by “doing what is right” for residents.
To that point, Steglik said he believed the possibilities for improvement in Mt. Laurel were “endless,” and he wanted to increase transparency of council’s work.
“It is my goal that every Mt. Laurel resident will be made aware of what this body of government is doing, and will have a say in its actions,” Steglik said.
For Pritchett, he also spoke to an “open-door policy” and encouraged residents to always reach out with their concerns.
“Please, challenge us. Come to these meetings and challenge us,” Pritchett said. “Ask the tough questions so we can get you the answer that you need.”
Finally, for Folcher, he welcomed Pritchett and Steglik to council and thanked council for entrusting him to serve as mayor.
“My hope is that the current council will continue to move forward ideas that are designed to keep our town employees safe, improve property values and quality of life for our citizens,” Folcher said.
Folcher also thanked previous members of council for their work, and he thanked all those in attendance this week for participating in the governmental process.
The next regularly scheduled meeting for council is set for Monday, Jan. 28, at 7 p.m. at the Mt. Laurel Municipal Building.
