Mark Conforti is named mayor of Montgomery Township

Mark Conforti is sworn-in to become the mayor of Montgomery for 2018, as his wife Janeen Conforti looks on. The mayoral oath was administered by Freeholder Mark Caliguire, who is also a former mayor of Montgomery. 

Mark Conforti was selected to serve as mayor and Christine Madrid was chosen as deputy mayor at the Montgomery Township reorganization meeting on Jan. 8.

Democrat Sadaf Jaffer was sworn in for a 3-year term on the governing body. The other four committee members are Republicans.

Conforti, a retired managing director at Credit Suisse. has served on the committee since 2011 and this is his first term as mayor. Madrid is serving her seventh year on the committee.

In the committee form of government in New Jersey, the mayor is selected each year by the committee and is not directly elected by voters.

Conforti praised Montgomery and said it has one of the best police departments in the U.S., one of the highest performing school districts in New Jersey, and said close to 40 percent of its open spaces are preserved from development.

“Some towns can claim one or two of those things, but I can’t think of any who can claim all three,” he said. “So as long as we keep doing our job and administering the town effectively this will continue to be a magnet community for years to come.”

Committee member Ed Trzaska completed his third term as mayor. He said the township will work on plans for municipal services at the Convatec property in the coming year.

“After four years of analysis and review, we decided to move forward with a new building on the former Convatec property.This was a big decision, but we could not spend the required $15 million to upgrade the current building, especially since even at that price tag, the final product would not fully meet our future needs, ” he said. “We are working with Somerset County on the process and will know our construction options in the next several months. There are many benefits with the new location and building.Our police department’s facility will now conform to all state and federal guidelines and be located much closer to our schools. The new building will also include enough space for a brand-new library, which will be run by the county library system.”

Jaffer said she was excited to join the governing body. “As a Township committee member, I will aim to serve all community members with honesty and openness,’ she said. “I will strive to champion diverse perspectives, civic engagement, and environmental stewardship,” she promised.


The 2018 Montgomery Township Committee members (l to r): Sadaf Jaffer, Deputy Mayor Christine Madrid, Mayor Mark Conforti, Patricia Graham and Ed Trzaska.