TRUSTEE
PASSAIC COUNTY
| Matthew T. Priore | Phone - (973) 470-0700 Email - Address - 1000 Clifton Ave, Clifton, NJ 07013 |
MATTHEW T. PRIORE is a graduate of Rutgers University, cum laude, with a double major in Communications and Sociology as well as a Certificate in Criminology. He is also a graduate of Seton Hall University School of Law and was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1994 and the New York Bar in 1997. He has been involved in local government law for nearly his entire legal career. Since 2004, he has served as the Municipal Attorney for the City of Clifton, the sixth largest city in New Jersey. He also previously served as both the Assistant Municipal Attorney and Municipal Prosecutor for Clifton.
In his capacity as the Municipal Attorney for the City of Clifton, Mr. Priore is responsible for handling all legal matters in a city of over 90,000 residents and over 700 employees. He manages all in-house attorneys in the Law Department and oversees all outside counsel. He handles and oversees trial and motion practice in the Superior Court, Federal Court, Appellate Division, Office of Administrative Law, P.E.R.C., and other state agencies. He has successfully defended the City on multiple occasions both through aggressive motion practice and trials.
In his private practice, Mr. Priore handles all aspects of civil and criminal litigation. He has had several reported decisions in the New Jersey Supreme Court, Appellate Division and Law Division. He handles litigation in the area of employment defense, civil rights defense and insurance defense for public and private entities. He has acted as a Special Prosecutor, Special Counsel and Hearing Officer in matters involving employment discrimination, sexual harassment and employee disciplinary matters. He has also been retained to conduct investigations and provide recommendations for public and private clients. He has guest lectured at Ethics seminars for public officials as well as at Continuing Legal Education seminars.
In addition to his work in Clifton, Mr. Priore has represented and served in numerous municipalities and government entities including the City of Passaic, Passaic Valley Water Commission, City of Wildwood, Township of Belleville, Township of Bloomfield, Borough of New Milford and Borough of Woodcliff Lake. He has also acted as Prosecutor in several towns including Hoboken, Wayne, Woodland Park, Fair Lawn, Haledon and Riverdale.
TRUSTEE
ATLANTIC / CAPE MAY COUNTY
| Marc Friedman, Esq. | Phone - 609-601-1600 Email - Address - 325 W. Groveland Ave. #161 Somers Point, NJ 08244-8777 |
After earning my law degree in 1981, I pursued criminal law working for a criminal assignment judge before becoming an Assistant Prosecutor in the Trial Division. In 1985, I commenced my private practice, handling a wide variety of civil matters and litigation primarily involving, real estate, collection and municipal court. In 1995, I was appointed Township Solicitor for the Township of Egg Harbor in Atlantic County and have served in that position for over 27 years while maintaining private clientele as a solo practitioner. Over the years, I have gained extensive experience on all facets of municipal government by rendering legal opinions, drafting ordinances and handling real estate transactional matters. I also engaged in complex litigation, involving In Rem tax foreclosures, property disputes, performance bonds, COAH, condemnation, ordinance enforcement, land use appeals, deannexation, etc. I also serve as special in rem foreclosure counsel for Atlantic City.
Solicitor, Egg Harbor Township 1994 to present
Admitted to U.S. Third Circuit, 1988
Admitted to N.J. Bar, 1981
Delaware Law School of Widener University, J.D. 1978
Ohio University, B.A. Dual Major - Psychology/Sociology 1978
Paramus High School, Paramus, N.J. 1974
TRUSTEE
MERCER COUNTY
| F. Clifford Gibbons | Phone: (609) 924-1444 E-mail: Address - 475 Wall Street, Princeton, NJ 08540 |
F. Clifford Gibbons is the owner and Managing Member of F. Clifford Gibbons, Attorney at Law, LLC in Princeton, New Jersey, and Of Counsel to Dolan and Dolan, P.A. in Newton, New Jersey. He specializes in handling land use matters of all types on behalf of municipal planning/zoning boards, property owners and citizen groups throughout New Jersey. Mr. Gibbons has also represented numerous New Jersey governmental entities in a host of capacities and has been appointed by the New Jersey Superior Court as a Hearing Officer in affordable housing litigation. He has been involved in several reported cases.
Mr. Gibbons serves as Trustee for the NJILGA and as Assistant Counsel to the New Jersey Planning Officials, Associate Counsel to the New Jersey State League of Municipalities (Chairman, Municipal Land Use Law Technical Review Committee), General Counsel to the New Jersey Association of Planning and Zoning Administrators and Vice Chairman of the Local Government Law Section of the New Jersey State Bar Association.
An adjunct instructor for Rutgers University, Mr. Gibbons is co-author of the New Jersey Casebook on Zoning, Planning and Land Use Law and was, for many years, co-author, with the late William M. Cox, of New Jersey Zoning and Land Use Administration (Gann Law Books). He has also published many articles on zoning, planning, local government law, legal ethics and other topics in the New Jersey Lawyer, New Jersey Planner and Municipal Law Review. Mr. Gibbons has twice received the New Jersey Planning Officials’ Achievement in Planning Award. In 2018, Gibbons received the NJILGA’s William M. Cox Award.
Mr. Gibbons received his A.B. from Colgate University and his J.D. from the Dickinson School of Law.
TRUSTEE
MONMOUTH COUNTY
| Meghan Bennett, Esq. | Phone - (732) 530-8822 Email - Address - 4 Paragon Way, Suite 400, Freehold, NJ 07728 |
Meghan Ann Bennett focuses her practice on public finance, corporate law and municipal law. Ms. Bennett has extensive experience as a bond counsel assisting counties, municipalities, boards of education and utility authorities issue general obligation and revenue bonds, bond anticipation notes, tax anticipation notes, and New Jersey Infrastructure Bank loans. Ms. Bennett also serves as Trustee and Underwriter’s Counsel in a wide variety of public finance transactions.
In addition, Ms. Bennett serves as Borough Attorney for the Boroughs of Little Silver and Farmingdale and Township Attorney for the Township of Colts Neck, Special Counsel for the Borough of Keansburg, the Township of Howell, and the County of Monmouth. Ms. Bennett has served as First Assistant Special County Counsel for the County of Monmouth.
Ms. Bennett is a member of the New Jersey Bar Association, the Monmouth County Bar Association, and the National Association of Bond Lawyers. Ms. Bennett currently serves as Trustee for the New Jersey Institute of Local Government Attorneys. In Addition, Ms. Bennett serves as a member of the Little Silver Board of Education. Ms. Bennett has also served as a member of the District IX Ethics Committee, Monmouth County, New Jersey.
Ms. Bennett was admitted to the New Jersey Bar in 1998. Ms. Bennett is a graduate of Seton Hall Law School, J.D.(1998), Bucknell University, B.A. (1995). Ms. Bennett clerked for Justice Daniel O’Hern of the New Jersey Supreme Court.
TRUSTEE
ESSEX COUNTY
| Victor A. Afanador | Phone - 973.877.3816 Email - Address - 570 Broad Street – Suite 1201, Newark, NJ 07102 |
Member, Lite DePalma Greenberg & Afanador, LLC
Victor A. Afanador is a seasoned trial attorney/oral advocate, commercial litigator and negotiator. He manages a litigation practice group representing public and private clients in a wide variety of areas including: commercial litigation, shareholder disputes, employment litigation defense (LAD and CEPA), labor counseling and negotiations, public entity tort liability defense (Title 59), police-related state and federal civil rights defense, constitutional civil rights defense, rent control litigation, federal and state criminal defense, condemnation/redevelopment law and complex commercial litigation.
In federal and state jury and bench trials/hearings, Victor has successfully tried to verdict a broad range of civil rights, employment, class action, rent control, redevelopment law and criminal matters. He has often served as an appellate practitioner preparing legal briefs and orally advocating before the New Jersey Supreme Court, the Superior Court of New Jersey, Appellate Division, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Court and the Supreme Court of the United States of America.
Victor received his B.A. from Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, and his J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law.