PARSIPPANY — The appointment of Parsippany resident Khaled Madin as Acting Township Clerk passed by a 4-1 vote, with Councilman Michael dePierro casting the lone vote against Madin.
Councilman Michael dePierro voted no, saying he was not part of the process of selecting a clerk to replace Yancy Wazirmas, who left the position in the fall. Business administrator Ellen Sandman has covered the clerk’s duties in the interim. Paul Carifi, Jr., the previous Council President formed a search committee and Vice President Robert Peluso and Louis Valori were appointed to the search committee.
“We did have a number of certified township clerks that applied, we had one local applicant that applied, one applicant that was a former deputy clerk in town, so we had fully certified people that were willing to take this job,” dePierro said. “And yet we hired someone who had no certifications and no experience as municipal clerk. I’m opposed to that.”
Councilman Paul Carfi stated “I would like to congratulate Mr. Madin. I am sure he will do a great job as our town clerk and I look forward to working with him.”
Khaled, who is currently employed at the Office of the Attorney General, Division of Consumer Affairs, will take the reins effective Monday, January 25. He has been with the Attorney Generals Office since September 2012. Prior to that he was an associate attorney at the Law Office of Peter C. Ioannou.
He is a 2005 graduate of William Paterson College, with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a 2012 Graduate of Western Michigan Cooley Law School with a Juris Doctor, Cum Laude.
He is admitted to the bar in three states: New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.
Council Vice President Robert Peluso pointed out, “Khaled has a strong customer service background, has managed four boards with over 39,500 licenses and has managed a staff of ten people.”
“After an exhaustive search we identified an ideal candidate for the Municipal Clerk position. Mr. Madin has diverse experience from his previous employment as Executive Director with the Division of Consumer Affairs, as a licensed attorney in three states, and a front office manager working directly with the public. His skills and education are important, but equally important is his exceptional customer service skills that are sometimes ignored in the public sector. Mr. Madin, a graduate from Parsippany School District and resident understanding our diverse community. I am confident that Mr. Madin will provide responsive leadership for our entire community,” said Mr. Peluso.
Khaled said “I believe my legal background, management skills and administrative experience, particularly my familiarity with working with the public, fit well with the job requirements. I have extensive experience in many of Municipal Clerk duties, including but not limited to all aspects of licensure and permits for four State of New Jersey Boards, handling Open Public Records Act (OPRA) and Open Public Meetings Act (OPMA) requests, issuing public notification of all official activities and meetings, preparing minutes and agendas, maintaining and updating records and responding to requests for information from the public and other legislative offices.”
Madin will replace Business Administrator Ellen Sandman who has been acting clerk since September 2015 when Township Clerk Yancy Wazirmas resigned.
The Township Clerk serves as Secretary to the Township Council, Custodian of Government Records, Election Official and Registrar of Vital Statistics.
Mayor James Barberio failed to respond for comments for this story.
