Roskoph Joins Council, Fleisher, Lipsett Return to Leadership

Carole Roskoph looked out over the crowd after being sworn in as Cherry Hill’s newest councilwoman, as around 10 of her students stood in the audience, and, her voice breaking, called it a defining moment after months of campaigning and a November election victory.

“When people would ask me why I was running, my answer was always the same: for my students,” she said. “I want Cherry Hill to be that place they will come home to.

“In this moment, when I see you here, I know that was the right answer. I see Cherry Hill’s future every day, and that future is bright.”

Replacing former councilwoman Jacqueline Silver, Roskoph was the only new member sworn in Thursday, as Democrats retained total control of the council and stuck with David Fleisher—who was re-elected to another term along with Roskoph—as president and Sara Lipsett as vice-president.

Roskoph and Fleisher, along with running mates Jim Bannar and Susan Shin Angulo, gave extensive thanks to the people who helped them along the road to victory in the fall.

“I’m not standing here alone,” Roskoph told those gathered at township hall. “This moment, this victory, is as much or even more from your efforts as it is mine.”

While it was a largely celebratory evening, the council members also talked a bit of business—or at least a path they want to continue into 2014.

“If you’ve come to Cherry Hill Township thinking that you would witness Washington-style gridlock, you’ve come to the wrong place,” Fleisher said. “Cherry Hill, under Mayor Cahn’s leadership, is getting things done.”

That’s included an average of around a dozen businesses coming into the township each month over the last year and the imminent arrival of Whole Food in the Ellisburg Circle shopping center, and Fleisher stressed the notion those successes come because of cooperation.

“Teamwork is indeed the only way we can get things done,” he said.