DUARTE 4
MENDHAM

Committeewoman Duarte has worked hard to keep residents informed and listen to their concerns. She holds Office Hours at Town Hall; sends out an email newsletter about upcoming Township Committee meetings and local events; and posts frequent updates on social media.  She launched and served as Chair of a Communications Sub-Committee, which in 2018 surveyed residents; redesigned the town's Website; and started a town-wide, email newsletter called “Mendham Matters,” which today is read by nearly 1,000 residents. Duarte proposed adding an additional time slot for  residents to speak during Township Committee meetings. She provided a live stream of important Planning Board and Finance Committee meetings. She wrote a new Ordinance giving students a voice on township sub-committees. She is leading an initiative to convert the old police station into a community center. Launched a survey and held several Listening Sessions to gain public input and ideas. She demonstrates a commitment to residents with 100% meeting attendance.

Committeewoman Amalia Duarte has a long history of volunteering and supporting recreation. She coached soccer and served as a Board member of the West Morris Soccer Club and coordinated field usage. She is a former girls’ basketball coach and Commissioner in the Patriots’ Basketball League. And, she served on the Recreation Commission for 12 years. As Chair of the Recreation Commission, Duarte fought to save Brookside Beach when it was threatened with closure in 2015. She also launched the Patriots’ Race in 2009, an annual community event and recreation fundraiser, with other members of the Commission. She served as Co-Chair of the Rebuild Ralston Playground campaign that raised more than $100,000 in 2017. She advocated for improvements at Brookside Beach and lining the Mount Pleasant tennis courts for Pickleball play.

Committeewoman Duarte has been dedicated to caring for residents and resolving their problems. She coordinated outreach calls to seniors during the COVID-19 pandemic and following Tropical Storm Isaias. She launched and Chairs the Mendhams Stigma-Free Task Force to support open conversations about mental health and substance use. After the tragic death of two teens by suicide in 2020, she led a coordinated community response, working with schools, police, faith leaders, and outside experts. Committeewoman Duarte has sponsored Proclamations for Autism Awareness Month, Mental Health Awareness Month, and Women’s History Month. She proposed a Proclamation to recognize Pride Month in 2019 and gained bipartisan support in 2020. She helped the Mendham Arts Council in its first project to install sculptures at Pitney Park. She collaborated with the student-led Sharing Project to find a permanent garden space to grow vegetables for food pantries. In response to residents’ frustrations, she wrote an Ordinance to create a Sewer Advisory committee that gives residents of Drakewick and Brookrace direct input into management of their sewer systems.

Duarte has voted for fiscally sound budgets since taking office. In the past four years, the township has kept tax collection flat. The 2023 budget dropped the tax rate slightly and reduced the bill for the average homeowner by $127. In 2018, Duarte led the township to join an energy aggregation cooperative aimed at cutting electric bills for homeowners. She successfully sponsored a bipartisan resolution at the statewide League of Municipalities convention demanding that Congress restore the State and Local Tax (SALT) deduction to provide tax relief. Committed to fiscal responsibility, Committeewoman Duarte has declined taking a salary for her elected position every year, saving $21,000 in taxpayer dollars. She supports smart investment in the maintenance of our community’s infrastructure, and this year is proud to support the largest road paving budget in recent history. 

Committeewoman Duarte was endorsed by the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters for her consistent, strong voice against overdevelopment and in favor of conservation. She was the only Township Committee member to vote against rezoning the Irene Spring Tree Farm property in 2021 that allowed a developer to clear-cut forest and build more houses. Duarte invited representatives from the Highlands Council to discuss the program in the Fall of 2022 and pushed for the township to undertake an initial assessment to determine whether or not to join, at no cost to the township. She proposed Resolutions to increase the notification requirements of development projects, which were sent to lawmakers in Trenton for action. Committeewoman Duarte has served as liaison to the Environmental Commission since 2018, where she has advocated for protecting our town’s open space and unique natural character. Most recently, Committeewoman Duarte worked with Morris County officials to get the township back to single-stream recycling. This should help increase recycling rates by making it more convenient to recycle.