Randy Bishop, 2012. Blogfinger file photo.
At the last Neptune Township Planning Board meeting, Committeeman Randy Bishop made the following announcement:
“I just want to thank the Board for the eleven years I served on the Planning Board.
“I will not be the Committee liaison in 2016.
“It appears that I will be appointed to a State position and I would have to leave the Governing Body.* I would like to stay on, but as the law is, I cannot.
“This will be my last Planing Board meeting.
“I received word today that the appointment that will launch my next mission will take place on January 7, and sent to the floor of the Senate on the 11th.
“I will resign January 26 from the Township Committee. Dr. Michael Brantley will be taking my place on the Planning Board.”
*Governing Body=Township Committee.
2 Cents: Regarding Randy’s departure speech, I suspect it was left out of the minutes to delay the public announcement. His speech reminded me of a Groucho Marx song which we are featuring in Wassup.–Paul
Paul/Blogfinger: My comment was not meant to suggest that your quote was inaccurate. Quite the contrary, I consider the resignation of a planning board member to be something of import that I would anticipate would appear in the minutes of the meeting. The fact that it does not makes me wonder what else is routinely omitted from these minutes.
2 Cents: My understanding is that those minutes do not have to include everything that happened at the meeting. Our post quote is taken verbatim from an official recording of the meeting. It is 100% accurate.
The official minutes of the 12/23/2015 Planning Board Meeting posted on-line contain no reference to the resignation of Randy Bishop. http://www.neptunetownship.org/sites/default/files/documents/PlanningBoard/PBMinutes_122315.pdf
I wonder if this Bishop State appointment has something to do with the two new Assembly Democrats who displaced the two Republican women who are now out of a job.
Mr. Bishop has not always had views similar to my own. Over many yrs. of being in the crowd (before he was an official,) watching him stand up among us for what he thought was right; then as an official doing the same.
I must say “admiration” and “void” are two words that come to mind.
He will never stop caring, but his help to others in his previous roles will be missed. Thank you Randy Bishop!
Joel T. Scranton