Ellen Dickson (mayor)
Mayor Ellen Dickson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 28th Mayor of Summit | |
| In office 2012–2015 | |
| Preceded by | Jordan Glatt |
| Succeeded by | Nora Radest |
| Summit City Council President | |
| In office 2009–2009 | |
| Summit City Councilwomen | |
| In office 2006–2011 | |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Republican |
| Residence | Summit, New Jersey |
| Alma mater | University of Massachusetts Babson College |
| Occupation | Portfolio manager |
Ellen Dickson is an American politician who served as mayor of Summit, New Jersey from 2012 to 2015. She had previously been a member of the city council for five years before her election as mayor, and served as the council president in 2009.[1]
Political career[edit]
City Council[edit]
Dickson would be elected to the City Council as a Republican in 2000 shortly before the election of the first Democrat councilors where in 2001. A champion of fiscal conservative forces in the city, she spearheaded efforts that slashed the number of municipal employees, reduced city spending, and decreased the city's property tax.[1] Before being elected mayor she unsuccessfully ran for Union County freeholder in 2010 and was pondering retirement.[2]
Mayor of Summit[edit]
Summit had long been a Republican stronghold until the early 2000s when it shifted towards a Democrat stronghold. This change is best personified by the election of the city's first democratic mayor Jordan Glatt in 2003 and his re-election in 2007, both of which he won handily with roughly 60% of the vote. However, Glatt declined to run for a third term in 2011. Councilwomen Dickson was the Republican nominee and ran against a community organizer, Eileen Ludden, who received the Democratic nomination, and former mayor of Milburn, Michael Vernotico, who ran as an independent.[3] She won the election with 39% of the vote to Ludden's 34% and Vernotico's 27%.[1] At her inauguration, which was attended by two members of the New Jersey General Assembly, Nancy Munoz and Tom Kean Jr., she promised to maintain a sense of community in the city, promoted use of the city's app she helped develop while on the council and promised free public WiFi for the downtown.[2] One of the first issues she had to face was the 2012 Hurricane Sandy where she was criticized for failing to restore power to many of the citizens of the city in a timely manner.[4] During her term the city saw $338,000,000 in construction investments which she helped oversee as a member of the city's Planning Board. She also supported the selling of the large Merck & Co. campus to Celgene.[5] She also oversaw the redevelopment of several of the city's parks, including a $275,000 project to restore Briant Park.[6] However, for the most part, she had very little say in the politics of the city since Summit operates under a weak mayor system with the mayor mostly being a ceremonial office.[7] Dickson would run for re-election in 2015 but would be defeated by former council president Nora Radest who received 58% of the vote to Dickson's 42%.[8][9]
Personal life[edit]
Ellen got her Bachelor of Business Administration at the University of Massachusetts and her Master of Business Administration from Babson College. Before becoming a city councilor she worked as a portfolio manager for National City Bank which is now part of KeyBank. Ellen is married to Chip Dickson and together they have two daughters, Laura and Julia, and a son Henry.[3]
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Summit voters return GOP presence to mayoral seat as Ellen Dickson wins 3-way race". www.nj.com. Star-Ledger. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Smith, Camilo. "Ellen Dickson Becomes New Mayor of Summit". patch.com. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Terruso, Julia. "Three contenders vie for mayor in Summit". www.nj.com. The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
- ↑ Hennelly, Bob. "With Power Still Out, NJ Pols Feel the Heat". www.wnyc.org. NPR. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ↑ "Merck Decides to Close Summit, NJ Facility". www.thirteen.org. PBS. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ↑ "Newly Restored and Improved Briant Park Opens in Summit and Springfield". ucnj.org/. Union County. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ↑ Dickson, Ellen. "Farewell Address". www.cityofsummit.org. City of Summit. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ↑ Elliott, Greg. "'Looking for Change' Summit Elects Democrats for Mayor, Two Council Posts; Candidates React to Election Results". www.tapinto.net. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
- ↑ Caldwell, Dave. "Living In Summit, N.J., a Place to Grow Into and Stay". ny times. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
This article "Ellen Dickson (mayor)" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Ellen Dickson (mayor). Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
