Dear Cranbury Residents,  

I was humbled to be named Mayor for 2023 by my colleagues on the Township Committee last evening.  Congratulations to Deputy Mayor Eman El-Badawi, and to newly-elected member Lisa Knierim and re-elected member Barbara Rogers! Matt Scott rounds out your 2023 Township Committee. We had a full room in Town Hall for the re-organization meeting.   

If your New Year’s resolution is to get more involved in town, we have openings on our Municipal Alliance (Third Tuesday at 3:30 pm), Historical Preservation Commission (First and Third Tuesday, 7:00 pm), and Parks Commission (Second Wednesday at 9:15 am). Please sign up to volunteer at this link.  I also hope your New Year’s resolution includes visiting the new public library building at 30 Park Place West if you haven’t already --- the space by the fireplace is especially inviting during these cold months.  

2023 is and will be an important year for Cranbury and the Township Committee to execute on important projects, and to steward taxpayer funds wisely to support our community goals. We’ll be installing a half-mile walking path in Village Park to give ADA-compliant access to a larger portion of the open space. We were awarded a NJ DOT grant to complete resurfacing of Plainsboro Road, including a new crosswalk at O’Brien Rd. We’ll be making progress on a holistic signage project and will advance items from the Bike Safety Network recommendations. Municipal projects are slow and take time to explore grants and matching funds; these projects have been in the works for many years.  

In addition to these important projects, my hope for this year is that we — TC members, volunteers, and members of the public — take a step back from the craziness of the past few years and 1) give each other the benefit of the doubt, 2) try not to take anything personally, and 3) remember that we are all working together to support our community. I will do my best to make sure there are no surprises whenever possible. I hope we can give each other the grace and space to be civil and kind to each other. Most of us have full-time jobs and obligations, and fit our TC work in at night and on the weekends. We’ll make mistakes, we’ll fail to communicate something, but I ask for your patience in advance.   

Finally, I’d like to end with a bit of gratitude.  Thanks to my fellow Township Committee members for your vote of support for me to lead our meetings this year. Thank you to our township administrator, Ms. Marabello, and our clerk, Ms. Rubin, for their consistent leadership of the township operations. Thank you to the staff of the township, both in Town Hall and at the DPW, for their effort to keep Cranbury running through everything that comes their way! And of course, our amazing Police, Fire and First Aid teams who keep us safe year-round. Finally, thank you to all our volunteers on the boards and commissions for their tireless behind-the-scenes work in running important committees for the Township.  I am humbled and impressed with the level of professionalism and energy they bring to their roles.  

To the residents of Cranbury, thank you for the opportunity to serve.  You have entrusted all five of us with the present and future of our town.  

Let’s make 2023 a great year!  

Michael Ferrante 
Mayor, Cranbury Township