The Moorestown Town Council will see an empty seat at the next meeting, as Councilman Greg Newcomer has resigned.
At the council meeting on Monday, Dec. 1, Newcomer announced his resignation, “effective immediately,” much to the shock of council and the public.
“I feel like it was a great decision. I certainly will miss it very much, but I need to move on and do the things that I need to do. I need to get my throat better, and, after having major surgery, you have a regimen to do, so I’m just trying to keep up with those things. Someone else can step up and do what is needed to be done and best for town,” Newcomer said.
Newcomer made the announcement early in the meeting, citing his health and wanting to spend more time with his family as reasons for leaving. Newcomer received a kidney transplant earlier this year.
The councilman made his decision to resign after much thinking and resolved it would be for the best.
“I just needed to spend more time with my family and the things I am doing, like taking care of my health,” Newcomer said.
According to Township Manager Scott Carew, the announcement came as a shock to everyone in the room and took over the atmosphere of the meeting. Newcomer did not reveal his plans prior to the meeting. Carew said after the shock, there was concern for his health.
“(We all) understand how important Moorestown is to him. He was a passionate volunteer long before council. For him to step back, it must’ve been difficult for him. It makes one concerned for his health and well-being,” Carew said.
Prior to his election, Newcomer was very active in the community for almost all of his 30 years in town. Newcomer participated in the township’s recreation department, Third Floor Committee, Moorestown Youth Baseball, the Moorestown school district, the Strawbridge Lake Association, the Planning Board and with MoorArts, the town theater program that benefits youth scholarships. He was also named the Citizen of the Year in 2004.
Newcomer, who was elected in 2012, was the only Democrat on the five-member council.
While on the board, Newcomer was proud of working to help get the Town Hall and library finished and up and running, helping the recreation building get new items such as the kitchen and being a part of the process for other infrastructures.
Newcomer had one year remaining on his term. It will be up to the Democratic Party to submit three nominees to fill the remainder of his term. One of two actions can be taken from there. The first would be to have council choose one of the nominations to fulfill Newcomer’s unexpired term. If council does not choose one of those nominated, the Democratic Party would then choose from those it has nominated.
The person would then be sworn in like any other council member and fill the seat of the unexpired term. The seat is up for election next November.
Newcomer hopes council continues to work toward solutions in the best manner and that boards and committees keep involved. He would also like to see everyone participate in town as much as possible.
“I think this town is great. The town has a lot of great assets and will continue to make progress in all areas … The staff, fire department, police, volunteers and the like, they all work hard to make the town what it is, and we need to keep going forward to keep this town great,” Newcomer said.
This won’t be the last you see of Newcomer, as he said he would like to continue to try to participate in the town, down the road.
“I want to thank everyone who has helped me along the way. It has been wonderful to be involved in all of these things in town. It is always the work of many hands; we have a lot of great involved people in town,” Newcomer said.
