The City of Bayonne has selected a former board of education candidate that came up short last year, despite the backing of the mayor and city council, to take over as the new business administrator as of May 1st.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Melissa Mathews is highly qualified to serve as our new Business Administrator. She has excellent educational credentials and experience in planning and zoning, investment banking, technology, non-profit organizations, and community activities,” Mayor Jimmy Davis said in a statement.
“I am very proud to appoint her as the first woman to serve as Business Administrator for the City of Bayonne,” added Mathews.
Mathews, who has worked for the planning and zoning division of the city for the past year, was appointed unanimously by the city council (5-0) at last night’s meeting.
She will take over her new post after Terrence Malloy, who has been serving in an acting capacity ever since Joe DeMarco left in late 2017, retires after 38 years on April 30th.
On Friday morning, city spokesman Joe Ryan said that under the municipal guidelines approved in 2018, the business administrator’s salary range is between $120,000 to $140,000.
“Since Terrence Malloy has not retired yet, the salary of Melissa Mathews has not been announced yet. Since she will be new to the position, her salary will be at the lower end of that range,” he said in an email.
Mathews ran for a three-year term on the board of education as part of the “Together We Can” slate with Jan Egan and Lisa Burke last year, with the team receiving an endorsement from Davis and the city council.
While Egan and Burke each picked up seats, then-Board Vice President Denis Wilbeck was the top vote getter.
Mathews has also previously worked as an equity research assistant, is the mother of four children, and co-founded the Mathews Foundation with her husband – a registered educational non-profit organization.
Editor’s note: This story was updated with new information.
