Governor Phil Murphy (D) will swear in three newly elected Mount Laurel Township council members this evening, giving the Democratic Party control of the governing body for the first time since the mid-1980s. Democrats Karen Cohen, Nikitas Moustakas and Fozia Janjua were elected to four-year terms this past November will join fellow Democrats, Stephen Steglik and Kareem Pritchett, who were elected in 2018. Steglik will serve as the Township’s Mayor while Pritchett will serve as the Township’s Deputy Mayor for 2021.
Cohen, Moustakas and Janjua will be replacing Republicans Mayor Irwin Edelson, Councilman Kurt Folcher and Councilwoman Linda Bobo. They defeated Edelson, Folcher and newcomer Sandra Pratt in the General Election. Councilwoman Bobo did not seek re-election. Cohen was appointed previously by the Republican Council to both the Library Board and the Green Team. Moustakas is an attorney and Janjua has been involved with volunteerism and founded a non-profit, CommUNITY SJP. They campaigned heavily as Democrats and promised to cut spending and use the Township surplus to reduce property taxes, to resolve Township flooding and traffic issues, improve the Township’s electrical grid and make all government operations and actions open and transparent. They indicated that $4.9 million in spending could be cut.
The Edelson, Folcher and Pratt campaign focused on keeping local property taxes down, maintaining quality Township personnel and services and keeping partisan politics out of Mount Laurel. They pointed to the Township’s lower taxes compared to neighboring communities, its high credit rating/low borrowing cost, the 1,000 plus acres of open space preserved, exceptional first responders and award winning facilities such as the Township’s library. They also promised to continue to fight overdevelopment despite State mandates to the contrary. They noted that the Township was rated as the best place to live in New Jersey and the 16th Best Place to Live in the United States by US News and World Report and celebrated the diverse thriving community that had developed under their leadership.
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