Politics & Government

High School Students Shadow Cranford Committee Members

The group of CHS seniors hold an interest in government and sat in on Monday's Township workshop meeting.


Four Cranford seniors, who are interested in politics and local government, shadowed the Mayor and committee during Monday’s workshop meeting.

Thomas Philip, Maria Schwartz, Rachel Zanfardino and James Sweeney are members of Cranford High School’s Youth and Government Club. Philip approached Mayor Tom Hannen about shadowing he and the committee since the students shared a common interest in local government.

The students sat with the committee during Monday’s workshop meeting and plan to be a part of Tuesday’s meeting as well. Philip said that other students are interested in shadowing the committee at future meetings.

He added that it was a great experience to see how the Township's policies were shaped and to be able to apply the knowledge they have learned in class on a local level. Philip said that some of the issues discussed during Monday’s meeting, such as flood control, were particularly interesting to the students since it is something that impacts them as residents. 

Philip plans to attend college to study Government and Economics. He will find out if he was accepted to The College of William and Mary in December.  Schwartz is hoping to study Political Science and Theatre and has already been accepted into Fordham. Zanfardino has also received an acceptance into Fordham. Sweeney is looking to study Engineering in college and should be hearing back from Princeton in December.

During the meeting, the students questioned some of the committee’s discussion on issues such as home elevations, flood control and green business certifications. 


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