BRICK – John Ducey, who has served as the mayor of Brick Township for nearly nine years, announced his resignation today.
The possibility of his departure was first publicized after Ducey confirmed his nomination by Governor Phil Murphy to serve as a Superior Court judge. On Thursday, Ducey received an endorsement from the state Senate Judiciary Committee, kickstarting the process to his approved judgeship. He was appointed today. Ducey will be seated in Toms River, replacing Judge Michael T. Collins.
“I am humbled and honored to be considered for such an important position,” Ducey said.
Ducey was joined by family, friends, and township employees on February 27 outside of town hall to give a teary-eyed speech on his final day in office.
Ducey thanked the staff at town hall for supporting the town and being there for residents no matter what their need was.
“If you want something done, you come here to town hall to get it done. Doesn’t matter what department, you get treated with respect and perfect customer service,” Ducey said. “It just means so much that you were there, and you’ll still be there in the future, but it makes my life so much easier as mayor when you have such great employees.”
Ducey choked up while crediting Township Administrator Joanne Bergin for her service throughout the years.
“Without you, I definitely wouldn’t have any success let alone getting as much done as we did over our nine years together. Thank you so much… you’ll always be a close friend, more than just a coworker,” Ducey said.
“Hopefully my love for Brick Township has shown through for the past 12 years. I loved every minute of being able to serve you as mayor of the greatest town in New Jersey. Thank you to the voters for giving me the opportunity to be the mayor of this great town and to try to get things done, and always do it every single day, in the right way. All the residents of Brick, whether you’re a voter or not, we always did what we thought was right,” Ducey said.
“It’s about thinking about families, thinking about people and thinking about how you can help people that’s what I always wanted to do, and hopefully that came through…Brick Township will be in fine shape from here. I’m going to miss it, I’m going to miss everything about it,” Ducey added.
At the end of his speech, Ducey was presented with the key to the city by Councilwoman Lisa Crate.
Bergin will serve as acting mayor for one day while the governing body chooses a candidate to fill the mayor’s position during Tuesday’s municipal meeting. The role will be filled through 2023 and a special election will be held in November so voters can appoint a candidate to fill the remainder of the term, ending in 2025.
