By DON STINE
Neptune Township Committeeman Randy Bishop will be leaving his post on the governing body Mon., Aug. 22 after 12 years of service to take a job with the county Board of Elections.
“Monday will be my last meeting and I will be resigning my position effective at 11:59 p.m.,” he said. “It is required I step down now that I have a job with the county.”
Bishop will be replacing Deputy Commissioner for Administration of Elections for Monmouth County Hedra Siskel although Siskel will stay in her post until after this November’s election to help Bishop during the transition period.
Bishop, a Democrat who has served for 12 years on the committee and was mayor in 2008 and 2012, said leaving is “bittersweet.”
“I have enjoyed serving the people of Neptune- the things they taught me and things I have been allowed to do. It has been a privilege to work with my colleagues but, more importantly, with the citizens of Neptune. There are challenges ahead which I would like to be a part of resolving but I have great trust in my colleagues to move forward with the right solutions for township,” he said.
It will now be up to the local Democratic Committee district leadership to present three potential candidates to replace Bishop to the Township Committee within 15 days of his resignation. The governing body then has 30 days to choose one candidate to fill his unexpired term, which ends this Dec. 31.
The local Democratic Committee will also decide who will be their candidate in the upcoming November election, when Bishop would have had to seek reelection, but that candidate does not necessarily have to be the same person appointed to serve Bishop’s unexpired term on the Township Committee.
The candidate will have to file his or her intent to run by the Sept. 15 deadline.
Current Township Committeewoman Carol Rizzo will most likely be one of the two candidates on the Democratic slate in November’s election. She was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Eric Houghtaling who was elected to the State Assembly last November.
