Garwood Candidate: "We Don't Ever Want to Merge with Westfield"

Garwood Pride!

Strong words from a Democratic council candidate on the topic of merging municipalities. At a meet and greet with voters Bill Nierstedt said "We (Garwood) don't ever want to merge with Westfield. We like the small town it is." He also said a Garwood-Cranford merge is a mistake. Nierstedt made the comments while campaigning with another fellow Democratic council candidate Ann Palmer at the Pointe, according to a report in the venerable Westfield Leader.

Some elected officials in New Jersey have started warming to merging with adjacent communities, especially in towns with less than 10,000 residents- like Garwood. Local Garwood Republicans have also been quite vocal about Garwood maintaining its identity. One issue Republicans and Democrats seem to have in common in town.


As for the next election, Nierstedt and Palmer will face off against Republicans Michael Martin and current Garwood councilman Timothy Hak.