Mayor Susan McCartney
WEST ORANGE — Four of the five members of the township council have responded to an open letter from Mayor Susan McCartney saying they disagree with a recent court decision about the township attorney.
“The case is not concluded, and the Council majority will continue to pursue its rights in the interest of West Orange residents and with the goal of preserving and exercising its legislative powers now and for the benefit of future Councils,” the council members wrote in response.
Councilmembers Asmeret Ghebremicael, Susan Scarpa, Joyce L. Rudin and Joe Krakoviak signed the letter while Councilmember Michelle Casalino did not.
The exchange of letters is over the status of longtime township attorney Richard Trenk. McCartney maintains she has the right to appoint the township attorney. The majority of the council would like to see a new attorney and believe their advice and counsel in this area is being ignored.
Superior Court Judge Annette Socca issued a preliminary ruling in McCartney’s favor on March 31.
The council’s letter described McCartney’s letter as “self serving” and said it failed to reflect the overtures by the Council to come to terms with her over professional appointments like the township attorney.
“In our view, your description of what has transpired conveniently ignores that you have failed to respect and embrace the advice and consent role of the Council embedded in our laws and municipal code,” the letter said. “That authority requires, among other things, that the Council be vigilant and informed when it performs its legal duty in offering its “advice and consent” when considering and voting on an appointment advanced by the mayor. Put another way, we were not elected to be a “potted plant” in the room.”
Trenk recently submitted his resignation and McCartney put forward new candidates for the job but a majority of the council was not willing to interview those candidates.
“Seeking a compromise, I extended an olive branch to the council with the intent to resolve the litigation by submitting Requests for Proposals for a new Town Attorney,” McCartney wrote. “The Administration received nine qualified proposals. Each candidate was interviewed by a panel, the consensus selections and resumes were sent to the Council. While I was only required to submit one name, I opted to send three, waiving my statutory right to appoint a town attorney, again, in an effort to collaborate on the decision for a new attorney. Only two of the five Council members were willing to conduct interviews with the three candidates.”
The council members said the mayor mischaracterizes Trenk’s status.
“The incumbent submitted a notice of his retirement conditioned on the Township Council approving a replacement for him,” their letter says. “According to the court’s preliminary order to which the council is bound, he serves until the disposition of the pending litigation and further order of the court, or until a settlement on the choice of his successor is reached. The fact is that the incumbent town attorney has not resigned, and he, along with his law firm, continues to act as town attorney despite the Council majority’s belief that this role, while this litigation is underway, poses a conflict of interest between him, his law firm and the Council.”
In response to the mayor’s call for litigation to end, the council members wrote that they have tried multiple face-to-face discussions with the mayor toward that end.
“In the council majority’s opinion, we do not believe that the Mayor has been true to that objective,” they wrote. “As recently as the court appearance March 25, 2025, when the Court allowed the parties an additional two days to negotiate before rendering her ruling, the mayor chose not to come to terms or even counter a bona fide offer from the Council majority.”
“The mayor knows there is a path to resolving the selection of a successor town attorney, having participated herself in efforts to resolve our differences. Indeed, she has even exhibited some modicum of respect for the Council’s advice and consent role on this very issue. So, we are puzzled that we cannot come to terms with her knowing that the incumbent is on his way out by his own choice” the council letter stated.
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