New Byram deputy mayor to ring in New Year with wedding bells

BYRAM - Councilman Louis Esposito, Jr., has worn many hats. He just hopes the latest one, as justice of the peace, fits well. Esposito Jr. will preside over the wedding ceremony when the local bride and groom tie the knot in Byram, at midnight on Dec. 31, 2005. Esposito will officiate the ceremony in his role as deputy mayor, a position recently established by the township council. “How bad can it be,” said Esposito, who also serves on the township’s architectural review, master plan, and open space committees, as well as the planning board among others. “It’s going to be a fun time.” The township had been contemplating creating the new position for quite some time to serve in the absence of the mayor. But it took a local couple to ignite the fire under the council’s decision. When the couple approached the township about its intentions to marry on New Year’s Eve, the soon-to-be bride and groom were informed that mayor Eskil “Skip” Danielson would be unable to officiate the ceremony. The council then when to work, looking for the next best thing by researching the processes in which to create the deputy mayor role. “It’s a good thing for the town to have,” said township manager Greg Poff. “It’s something that has been considered for quite some time - and now was the right time.” Esposito was humbled to be the inaugural choice of his colleagues, but said any one of the current members of the township council could have assumed the role. “Every council member in town works very hard to serve the community,” said Esposito, a council member since 2000. “This new office is nothing more than a way to help the mayor with some of the obligations of his position.” Esposito will serve as deputy mayor until June 30, when the council will appoint another member to fulfill the one year-term on a rotating basis as part of the township’s Falkner Act - or non-partisan - form of government. The new deputy mayor said he wouldn’t have it any other way. “Our council works so well together,” he said. “We’re all qualified. I wouldn’t be interested in the process if we had the stuff that goes on in other towns. We have a small town here without the party politics.” Esposito said he is anxious to gain his baptism by fire on New Year’s Eve, but is up to the task to keep the peace. “I’m very excited to be in the position,” he said. “I’ll wish the couple all the best in the world and tell them a wife and family is one of the most wonderful experiences in the world.”