When long-time Weehawken 1st Ward Councilman and Deputy Mayor Lou Ferullo died suddenly last month, James Terlizzi, a fellow member of the Township Council, felt a personal sense of loss.
“He was a great guy and a great friend,” Terlizzi said of Ferullo. “I miss him terribly. I didn’t realize how much I truly liked him until he was gone. I mean, I knew I liked him, but I didn’t know how much. He was the nicest man in the world and cared about everyone.”
The Township Council has tried to move on after the death of the beloved Ferullo. Carmela Silvestri Ehret was selected to replace Ferullo as the 1st Ward representative, but the role of becoming Weehawken’s No. 2 man behind Mayor Richard Turner was not determined until last week.
Because he is the elder statesman in terms of service, 3rd Ward Councilman Robert Sosa was first approached to see if he wanted the position as deputy mayor.
“We normally give it to the senior member of the council,” Turner said. “We asked Bob and Bob agreed that it should go to Jim Terlizzi. Bob is a business person and has his job to worry about. Being a deputy mayor takes a lot of time, going to various events. Jim is retired and has the free time. It made sense.”
All of the seats on the Weehawken Township Council, including that of Mayor Turner, are part-time positions and the members receive only a stipend for their service. Terlizzi officially retired from his position as the director of affordable housing for the Weehawken Housing Authority four years ago.
At last Wednesday’s regularly scheduled Township Council meeting, Terlizzi took the oath of office as deputy mayor, with the Ferullo family, namely Lou’s widow, Raye and her two sons, Robert and Louis, standing alongside Terlizzi and his family.
“I was pleased to have the support of Raye, Rob and Louis,” Terlizzi said. “It’s a great honor to be chosen to serve as deputy mayor, but it’s an even bigger honor following in the footsteps of Lou. If I can do half the job that Lou did, I’d be thrilled.”
Terlizzi told the audience of approximately 200 people that he had no intentions “of ever replacing Lou Ferullo.”
“We’re not replacing Lou,” Terlizzi said. “We’re just going on with our government. We can’t replace him. I just want to continue the Lou Ferullo tradition. I’m honored and delighted to be able to serve.”
Terlizzi will now represent Turner at the township functions that he cannot attend. Turner has a busy schedule as the full-time township administrator in neighboring West New York.
“I realize that I have more time to give to the position of Deputy Mayor,” Terlizzi said. “Whenever I’m needed, I’ll be there.”
Ehret also took the oath of office Wednesday night as 1st Ward Councilwoman. She will face a special election in November for the remaining three years of the term Ferullo won last May.
Second Ward Councilwoman Rosemary Lavagnino was appointed to represent the Township Council in the development of the proposed waterfront recreation site, a position that Ferullo held.
Turner said that he was very pleased to be able to turn the reins over to Terlizzi.
“Jim has always been a valuable member of the council,” Turner said. “He’s our at-large councilman (Turner was elected as the other at-large member, then appointed mayor) and he will be able to represent us in certain events. He will do an excellent job as deputy mayor.”