Township clerk honored at State of Township Address

IRVINGTON, NJ — Mayor Tony Vauss honored several township employees at his fourth annual State of the Township Address in Christian Pentecostal Church on Clinton Avenue on Thursday, Feb. 23, including Sgt. Sheyla Marquez-Cepeda of the Irvington Police Division, Charles Washington from the Department of Public Works, former Building Department Director and current East Orange Mayor Ted Green, and township clerk Harold Wiener.

“The people that we gave awards to are the unsung heroes,” said Vauss on Tuesday, March 13.

All of the awards were a surprise to the honorees, since Vauss had not informed them they would be getting awards that night. But no one seemed more surprised to be honored than Wiener, who is also recognized as a certified master clerk by the state of New Jersey.

“I’ve also worked with him for a few years and he is one of the best individuals that I’ve met, since I’ve been in politics,” said North Ward Councilman and Municipal Council President David Lyons on Thursday, Feb. 23, during his introduction and award presentation to Wiener. “He’s honest, forthright and he became a friend, someone that I can talk to. Someone that is sometimes a confidante. Someone that does their jobs probably better than anyone that I know. I think Irvington is glad to have him all these years and I think also he is the best clerk in the state of New Jersey.”

In fact, after his name was called and his service award was announced, Wiener was at a loss when everyone gave him a standing ovation and hesitated before walking across the dais to accept it and give a brief acceptance speech.

“And indeed this is a surprise. Trust me,” said Wiener on Thursday, Feb. 23. “I want to thank the mayor, the Municipal Council, because you can’t be successful without the support of the elected officials. I don’t get this opportunity much, so I want to thank the people I work with, particularly my fellow employees. I want to thank my staff: Shawna, Roxanne and Shontae. They work hard and I mean hard, each and every day, to make me look good, to make the mayor look good, to make the council look good, to make the township of Irvington look good.”

Wiener is a product of Irvington’s public schools and an Irvington High School graduate, in addition to being certified as a master clerk by the state of New Jersey. After thanking Vauss, Lyons and his co-workers, he thanked everyone else for sharing his love

“I want to thank everybody in the audience this evening, as well as every good resident of the township of Irvington,” said Wiener. “We’re all moving forward together. And once again, ‘Thank You,’ and I really, really appreciate it.”

The Shawna that Wiener referred to is his assistant municipal clerk, Shawna Supel, who agreed with Vauss and Lyons that he is “the best clerk in the state of New Jersey” and it was about time that everybody else recognized that, too.

“Yes I was surprised, but it was well-deserved,” said Supel on Thursday, Feb. 23. “Harold is a hard worker. He is the best clerk in the state of New Jersey and I’m happy to work under him and learn so much from him.”

  David Lyons, Harold Wiener, Mayor Tony Vauss, Shawna Supel