HOWELL – After the deputy mayor resigned, many people have asked what the rules are for filling that spot.
Councilman Fred Gasior stepped down on July 17. The Howell Times reached out to the township clerk to learn what happens next. His council term ends December 31, 2026. Who will fill the seat until then?
The clerk’s office said that since Gasior is a Republican, the town’s Republican committee will send three names to the council. The Township Council has 30 days after Gasior left to select a temporary replacement. This appointment must be made by a majority vote of the Township Council.
Since Gasior’s resignation was effective on July 17, 2025, a successor will need to be appointed by August 16, 2025.
Since there was not a council meeting until August 19, they rescheduled the August 19 meeting to August 12. The private session begins at 6 p.m. but the regular meeting begins at 7 p.m.
If the Township Council fails to pick someone by August 16, then the Republican committee makes the choice. They would have until August 31 to do so. By law, the appointee would need to be sworn in immediately upon selection.
Whoever is the temporary office holder will have to run in the general election in November for the rest of the term. The election will be held as usual. All candidate petitions to run for the remainder of his term, which ends December 31, 2026, must be submitted by August 26.
“I will confirm that I have resigned my post from the Howell Council effective today,” Gasior had posted on social media. “There are current internal and external matters going on that because of a potential role I may play in them I am legally required to make no statements about them. The external is a legal matter and I do believe that because the required legal documents have been filed, it is public information that will indicate all of the people who are involved. Those documents are available to the public in the appropriate places. They would also be available to be OPRA’d.”
OPRA stands for the Open Public Records Act, which allows people to request specific documents or files from government entities.
Gasior is currently in his first term on council and has served on the township planning board. He ran for mayor in the primary last year.
He is listed as having retired from both being a public school teacher and a NJ State Trooper. His profile on the Howell GOP website said that he graduated from Trenton State College, Seton Hall University and NJIT, studying engineering.
