The township of Cranford was officially established on March 14, 1871 from the scattered farms left untouched after Westfield, Rahway, and Union were established. The first form of government was local representation, consisting of a committee of four (one from each District) and a chairman. This structure lasted until 1901, when the Township Committee began to be selected irrespective of district divisions. The first committee meeting was held on April 15, 1871, during which the first official action of the town’s government was put into order: for the President of the committee “to lease a piece of land for ten years to build a pound on.”
Cranford is governed under the Township form of government. The five-member Township Committee is elected directly by the voters at-large in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis. The Mayor and Deputy Mayor are elected by the Township Committee for one-year terms. Four of the committee members take on departmental oversight assignments as Commissioner of Finance, Commissioner of Public Safety, Commissioner of Public Works and Engineering, and Commissioner of Public Affairs.
Notable people:
· Basketball Hall of Fame member Carol Blazejowski
· Developer of the rhino tank for the battle of Normandy Curtis G. Culin
· New York Post sports journalist and Hockey Hall of Fame member Hugh S. Delano
· President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York William C. Dudley
· Writer and supervising producer of The Cosby Show Gary Kott
· Founder of the North American Chinese Entrepeneur Association May Li
· Environmental health scientist Paul J. Lioy, who analyzed the effects of dust after the September 11th terrorist attacks
· Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush N. Gregory Mankiw
· Co-founder of S&H Green Stamps Thomas Sperry
· President of American Atheists David Silverman
· Rock musician and American Idol contestant Jordan White
Call Scott Gleason at 908-698-2630 or click the button below for more information about the Cranford government and community.