In a case of the wow, where’d that come from, longtime Harrison Fourth Ward Councilman Michael Dolaghan announced his resignation and retirement from the governing body and from his position as Board of Education supervisor of maintenance and director of facilities.
Dolaghan hand-delivered a copy of his resignation to The Observer’s office on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. The resignations were effective Nov. 1, 2024.
The man who has been involved in Harrison civics for more than 50 years says he is content with his decision.
“It was time,” Dolaghan, who underwent major heart surgery in February, said. “I will miss serving on the council and I wish nothing but the very est for the town and for those involved politically in the future.”
In his years on the council, Dolaghan served four years as recreation chairman and 28 years leading the DPW, buildings and grounds.
Dolaghan, 75, notes he had opposition seven times in elections, winning every challenge.
“I thank all the residents of the Fourth Ward,” he said. “Thank you for your support and confidence shown in me through the years. It was a partnership based on mutual respect that I am proud, blessed, grateful and honored to have been a part of.”
His successor will likely be determined first, but a selection of three candidates by the Harrison Democratic County Committee. Then, of those three, the Town Council will choose one to take the seat.
That person must get a full majority of the vote to take the seat. If that cannot be accomplished, the council could choose one or the remaining choices.
Lastly, if none of the three are able to get the majority of council support, Mayor James A. Fife could elect to leave the seat open until the next general election in November 2025, at which time a special election would take place to fill out Dolaghan’s remaining term, which is set to expire Jan. 1, 2028.
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.