NORTHFIELD — Republicans Carolyn Bucci and Eric Leeds joined Northfield City Council on Jan. 4 during its reorganization meeting, increasing the party’s control of the board to 6-1.
Councilmen Brian Smith and Greg Dewees also were sworn in Tuesday. Smith won a second-straight term uncontested and Dewees defeated Frank Perri for the at-large seat in the election Nov. 2. Dewees tallied 1,694 votes to Perri’s 1,543, winning 52 percent to 48 percent.
Dewees won re-election to his Ward II seat in 2019 and had one year remaining. The unexpired term was filled by the appointment of Leeds, 55, who grew up in Egg Harbor Township and attended Oakcrest High School. He now owns a home on Debora Avenue.
President of the New Republican Party of Northfield, Leeds has been involved with emergency response since he was a teenager. As a member of the Egg Harbor Township Rescue Squad, he shattered his elbow, missing months of school, so decided to take the GED exam instead.
Leeds said he is retired from a federal intelligence agency and contracted to the federal government to perform sensitive investigative work. He said he signed nondisclosure agreement and cannot name the agency nor say exactly what he does.
“I have more than 30 years of government experience in one capacity or another,” he said.
Leeds was appointed by resolution in September 2020 as the city’s deputy municipal emergency management coordinator, a volunteer position that includes use of a municipal vehicle. He has an amateur radio license, call sign K1GFY.
Leeds will serve on the Fire Department/EMS Committee with Councilman Dave Notaro, the Buildings and Grounds Committee with Dewees and the Inspections, Code Enforcement, Housing/Zoning Committee with Councilman Paul Utts.
Leeds said he would like to continue some of the successes from last year.
“Councilman Smith was able to reach, at no-cost to taxpayers, a deal for emergency medical services. I would like to see us expand on that a little bit more,” he said, noting there is momentum growing again for a central dispatch system.
“It works well in other counties but I’m just not sure if it will work in this county,” Leeds said, noting it’s been about 30 years since the city first contracted with Egg Harbor Township.
Smith reported last month that Northfield, Linwood and Longport area each paying more than EHT for the service it provides.
“Right now, the city is paying more than its fair share,” Leeds said.
Dewees, 64, a surveying department unit supervisor for the Atlantic County Department of Engineering, Division of Planning, was first elected in 2010 and has served continuously since that time. He was City Council president in 2017-18 and has chaired the Buildings and Grounds, Public Works, and Birch Grove Park committees every year.
Bucci, 57, and her husband, George, have two adult sons. She won her first election, outpolling Barbara Madden 976 to 702, or 58 percent to 42 percent, in November 2021.
Bucci graduated from LaSalle University with a degree in management/marketing and has worked in the insurance business since 1986, currently with AmTrust North American as a senior construction defect claim specialist.
Bucci believes her work experience will be an asset to City Council.
“I handled claims for a number of the Joint Insurance Funds for seven years of my career,” she said.
Prior to her election, Bucci said she is familiar working with budgets through community service and the various boards on which she has served, including the Mainland United Soccer Association and Northfield Little League.
She said she supports fiscal responsibility by finding ways to stabilize or lower taxes.
“No one wants their tax bills to go up, so through the use of shared services, I will help council work hard on trying to keep our taxes from increasing,” she said.
Bucci said Saturday that she will chair the Insurance and Safety Committee.
“At this point, everything is new. I’m going to learn as much as I can and ask as many questions as I can,” Bucci said. “I’m going in with both feet, with both eyes open and both ears open to learn as much as I can.”
She also will serve on the Technology/MRHS Channel Committee with Councilman Paul Utts and Birch Grove Park, Bike Path, First Street Playground and Veterans Park Committee with Dewees.
Having served on the board of the Otto Bruyns Public Library, she now will be council liaison to that board.
Bucci said she would like voters to know that she appreciates their support and hopes “to show people who didn’t vote for me to next time consider it.”
City Council President Tom Polistina was re-elected to that position.
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff