Councilman David Contract

01/01/2026

Happy new year! I wanted you to know that my council term ended yesterday so I won’t be keeping this page active anymore. Please follow your new Councilperson’s page Councilwoman Jenn Gilman and the other members of the Town Council to stay informed and engaged. Thanks.

12/31/2025

Please join the town’s reorganization meeting including the swearing-in of Mayor-Elect Berman, my replacement Jenn Gilman and the other three new Councilpersons elect. Tues. Jan 6 at 7pm. Details below

Please join us on Tuesday, January 6, for the Town's Annual Organization Meeting in the Council Chambers, or via live stream on our YouTube page.

The meeting will include swearing-in ceremonies for the newly-elected Mayor and Council members, delivery of the State of the Town Address by Mayor-elect Berman, and the appointment of volunteers for this year's Boards and Commissions.

12/26/2025

Be safe and prepared. Snow is on its way

𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐌 𝐖𝐀𝐑𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆: 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑 𝟐𝟔-𝟐𝟕

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning and Hazardous Weather Outlook for our area, from 4:00 PM Friday through 1:00 PM Saturday. The current forecast anticipates 6-9 inches of snow.

The Police Department, Fire Department, and Department of Public Works continue to monitor the storm, and salting of main roadways is expected to begin in advance of the snow. The DPW will begin plowing once three inches of snow have accumulated.

𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗺. 𝗣𝘂𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗰 𝗢𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟳𝟬 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗵𝗶𝗯𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗪𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗳𝗶𝗲𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝘀𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗳𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗱𝘁𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱. Removing cars allows plowing crews to operate efficiently as they cover 380 municipal roadways in each pass through Town. The Westfield Police Department will issue tickets for violations of this ordinance. Under these circumstances, the shoveling or blowing of snow into a plowed street is also banned.

Downtown residents without driveways may park in Lot 4 behind Baron's. Residents in other areas without driveways or the ability to park off-street may park in the Memorial Pool lot, on the tennis court side. Cars must be removed no later than 1:00 PM on Saturday to allow Public Works to plow these lots.

In addition, the following locations are subject to alternate side of the street parking after three inches of snow have fallen, and vehicles need to park on the side of the street with even house numbers (except for Ross Place).
🔹400 & 500 block of Downer Street
🔹400 block of First Street
🔹Livingston Street
🔹Cacciola Place
🔹Cowperthwaite Place between Elm and Clark Streets
🔹300 & 400 block of Lenox Avenue
🔹200 block of St. Paul Street
🔹Entire length of Ross Place (park on the side with odd numbers only)

Residents are reminded that, in addition to cars, all items should be cleared from the roadways and curbs to help facilitate efficient plowing.

Curbside recycling for Zone 10 (originally planned for Saturday, December 27, as part of the holiday week schedule) will be picked up on Monday, December 29, along with Zone 1.

12/14/2025

Chag Sameath! Happy Hanukkah. May the festival of light remind us that we all need to continue to work together to stamp out hatred, esp. anti-semiticism, which continues to rear its ugly head around the world.

Tonight’s menorah lighting was a beautiful symbol of our community doing just this. For those who attended, thank you braving the cold and snow to celebrate Hanukkah’s first night. And thank you to the town’s DPW and Police Department as well as the Union County Torah Center located here in Westfield for making tonight’s event safe and smooth.

12/13/2025

Snow it’s on its way tonight. Be prepared and aware of town’s parking rules if three or more inches fall. Get the details on this Nixle alert

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory and Hazardous Weather Outlook for our area, from 10:00 PM Saturday through 1:00 PM Sunday.  The Department of Public Works is ...

12/13/2025

This is my last Council meeting email update. It’s hard to believe that 8 years and 2 terms have passed by since I first started sending out updates. If you can believe it, this email is the 1,047th one I’ve sent to you. WOW – that’s a lot of typing. I hope you’ve found these updates informative and useful and helped you feel more engaged and knowledgeable about town affairs. This update will include a summary of what the Council accomplished at its last meeting of 2026 and a brief thank you and goodbye from me to you.

Here is a summary of legislative accomplishments at the meeting:

The Council passed the following ordinances on second reading, two of three which passed unanimously:

Bicycle Parking regulations for new developments ensuring sufficient bicycle parking
Zoning Permit Process which will ensure that all backyard projects not subject to the town’s Building code are reviewed by the town within 10 days and that these projects follow all town rules. This process was specifically requested by the Town Staff because it will eliminate major issues that they face and Councilpersons like me face where projects like a driveway addition, installation of a expanded patio or permanent firepit displace water onto a neighbor’s property, causing flooding issues that didn’t exist before. It will also ensure that all projects planned by a resident are permitted so residents don’t have to go to the cost of removing something from their property when they find out it’s not allowed (yes this has occurred a few times). The Council discussed this ordinance at length before voting on it and agreed that it will be reviewed in 6 months to ensure it’s working properly and is not confusing or onerous to residents. It ultimately passed nearly unanimously with 1 dissenting vote.
Ordinance setting the salary ranges for non-Union employees of the town.
The Council also approved unanimously 4 resolutions that settle outstanding litigation related to the town’s most recent Affordable Housing submission and the One Westfield Place. The town passed resolutions allowing the Mayor to sign settlements with the three parties that challenged the town’s 4th round Affordable Housing plan that was filed with Fair Share Housing. With these settlements, Westfield becomes one of the first town’s in NJ to fully satisfy its 4th round obligations. This is a huge achievement! The one settlement of consequence regards the glass buildings on stilts on South Avenue. Toll Brothers challenged the zoning that was included in the town Affordable Housing plan and wanted much higher density. Through extensive discussions, this settlement reduces the density to what the town proposed in its plan and will set design standards that will make this project look much nicer and upscale befitting our town.

The Council also passed a resolution allowing the Mayor to sign a settlement with the Westfield Advocates for Responsible Development. In this settlement -- which the Westfield Advocates sought from the town -- they will withdraw their pending appeal of their most recent lawsuit which was rejected by the court and agreed to drop any future litigation over One Westfield Place. All four of these settlements are a great way to end the year and our time on the Council because they represent the town’s commitment to affordable housing as well as finally allowing the transformative One Westfield Place project to move forward without the threat of future litigation.

The Town also passed resolutions accepting $33,000 in additional grant money from the National Opioid Settlement, fixing the town’s Reorganization Meeting for Tuesday Jan. 6, setting the dates for next year’s Council meetings and rejecting RFP submissions for the marketing of recyclable materials (basically from facilities where the town's curbside recyclables are brought to be processed) because two bids were submitted that were exactly the same amount.

Lastly, a few more updates shared:

the new Recreation Department Director was introduced (Dan Honz) who is a Westfield resident. Welcome Dan!
The town will be finished up leaf collection this week. Please don’t put any more leaves on the street
Don’t forget the town’s annual Menorah Lighting on Sunday Dec 14 at 5pm in front of the North Avenue train station and other upcoming holiday events.
Deadline to enter the holiday lighting contest is Dec. 10
Deadline for train station parking renewals is Dec. 31 deadline. You can do this on the town's website for the first time this year. YAH!
The town’s Health Department Director Megan Avallone also provided an update on the feral cats situation on the South Side since the Board of Health has responsibility for this. She indicated that the town has trapped 14 cats living outside and that the kittens were safely adopted by families while the adult cats were released on farms in other towns to continue living outside
The highlight of the night was at the end of the meeting where the 5 outgoing Council members (myself, Mayor Brindle, Councilpersons Linda Habgood, Michael Dardia, and Jim Hely) were honored with proclamations and afforded the opportunity to share some final remarks. This was a very special moment and one that I’ll never forgot. I spoke for 5 minutes or so and have included what I prepared to say below in case you want to read it. But honestly, I deviated quite a bit from this script which I'm apt to do 🙂

My experience serving as your Councilman will be one that I’ll never forget. I want to thank you for electing me twice and giving me the privilege of serving on your behalf. I'm very proud of what have collectively achieved in helping move Westfield forward over the past eight years and I can't wait to see what new Mayor Berman, new Ward 3 Councilwoman Jenn Gilman and the other members of the Council accomplish.

Thanks! Don’t be a stranger. Even though I won’t be on the Council, I’ll still be living in Westfield.

Happy holidays!

Best

David

11/22/2025

Don't miss the official kick off to the holiday season on Saturday night of Thanksgiving weekend at 5pm -- it's the annual Christmas tree lighting plus music, sweets and more. Details below. Hope you can make it!

‘Tis the season for our annual Christmas Tree Lighting! 🎄
🗓️ Saturday, November 29
⏰ 5 PM
📍 North Side Train Station Parking Lot

Enjoy holiday music from our DJ and carolers, treats for kids, and a visit from Santa at 5:30 PM. 🎅 Gather with neighbors, friends, and family as we kick off the holiday season together in the heart of downtown. ✨

11/11/2025

Want to get involved in Westfield? Now’s your opportunity to volunteer for a board, commission or advisory group. Just submit a simple application during the towns annual call for volunteers. Details below

Applications are now open for the 2026 Boards and Commissions, as well as for the Mayor's Advisory Councils, at westfieldnj.gov/volunteer. The submission deadline is December 5.

10/25/2025

Important info about the town’s new online parking portal where you can now buy daily parking passes online! See below.

𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐏𝐀𝐑𝐊𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐘𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐌
🆕westfieldnjonline.parkvantage.com

The Westfield Parking Division of the Town of Westfield, NJ Police Department is launching the first phase of a modern, online parking permit system on Monday, October 27, as part of our continued effort to improve customer service and make parking services more convenient for residents and employees. Once complete, this important upgrade will support both daily and annual permit purchases, as well as wait list management.

🚗 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗴?
All parking permit management will move online through a new system powered by ParkVANTAGE. With your new account, you’ll be able to:
🔹Purchase daily passes from your phone or computer (available October 27)
🔹Join the wait list for an annual permit
🔹Register multiple vehicles under one permit
🔹Renew and pay for annual permits online (available in December)
🔹Avoid in-person visits, window stickers and paper hang tags — your license plate will now be your permit.

✅ 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗡𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗗𝗼
Anyone wishing to purchase/renew annual permits, buy a daily pass, or participate in the wait list will need to have an account set up on the new online system (westfieldnjonline.parkvantage.com). The ParkVANTAGE website provides detailed, step-by-step instructions on account setup/completion, as well as FAQs to assist with troubleshooting, if needed.

➡️Existing Permit Holders/Wait List Participants
On October 23, ParkVANTAGE sent emails to all current permit holders and wait list participants with a link to activate your new account. Once your online account setup is complete, your existing Westfield permit(s) will be automatically linked to your dashboard for easy access.

While you can view your account details and existing permits after completing your account setup, you will not be able to renew or purchase annual permits until December. You’ll receive a follow-up email notifying you when you can log in to renew and pay for your annual permit(s). We strongly encourage all permit holders to complete account setup before annual permit renewals to avoid delays.

➡️Daily Pass Purchasers
For those who have never provided an email address to the Parking Division and wish to purchase daily parking passes, please visit the ParkVANTAGE online portal to create and set up your new account.

💻 𝗡𝗲𝘄: 𝗗𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗣𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗚𝗼 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 (𝗘𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗢𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟳)
We’re modernizing the way you purchase daily parking passes:

🔹Starting October 27, residents can purchase daily parking passes online, as early as 12:01 AM on the day of use. Currently, the software doesn’t allow for purchases the day before and ParkVANTAGE is working on making that change, which is anticipated to go online by early next year.
🔹This process replaces the in-person purchasing process at the South Avenue lot. Your license plate will now be your permit. In order to make a gradual transition, during the week of October 27 we will offer both traditional, in-person daily permits (as availability allows) as well as the new online process. After October 31, daily permits will only be available online.
🔹The new daily rate for the South Avenue lot will be $7, effective October 27, marking the first price adjustment since the $5 rate was introduced with daily passes in 2006. This new rate was approved unanimously by the Town Council.
🔹Daily passes will also be available for the Watterson Street lot for the first time, effective October 27, at a rate of $5, providing more flexible parking options for Westfield residents and additional daily parking capacity.

Please note: You must create an online account in order to purchase daily passes.

We are excited to deliver smarter, more convenient parking solutions to our residents. If you have questions, please contact the Parking Division at [email protected] or at 908-789-4044.

10/25/2025

Thank you for letting me represent Ward 3 for the past nearly eight years. I promised to bring “Fresh Ideas and Proactive Leadership” to town government and move our town forward. I hope you’ve seen this on display during my time in office including paving nearly all of Westfield’s roads, strengthening communication with you through regular email updates, restoring strong fiscal discipline, reinvigorating our downtown and jumpstarting the town’s sustainability efforts.
Despite this amazing progress, there’s still more work to do and I know that Jenn Gilman is the right person to represent Ward 3 and continue this progress! This is why I’m endorsing her for Ward 3 Council and I encourage you to vote for her in this year’s election.
Jenn is a proactive leader who will champion and implement the right solutions for the challenges we face in Ward 3 and Westfield. She’s been doing this her whole life – getting involved and leading. From serving as a founding member of the local chapter of Mom’s Demand Action Against Gun Violence to championing pedestrian and bike safety and improved parks and recreation during this year’s campaign, Jenn listens to you, studies the issues you raise, and then proactively pursues solutions that make sense. And she makes sure to communicate her progress to everyone every step of the way. She is the type of person that Ward 3 needs on the Council – an advocate and leader who will drive change – and someone I’d be proud to take over the seat I’ve represented for the past eight year.
Jenn also brings the other qualities that you demand from a Council member including:
 Commitment to our community: I’m blown away by the many roles that Jenn has played in our community including leader of two girl scout troops, director of the Jefferson Jubilee (the school’s largest fundraiser), and pre-school teacher at Temple Emanu-El
 Commitment to our town – Jenn has led the Recreation Commission for the past 5 years, championing initiatives to improve our parks and recreation including launching the popular Tour De Westfield, renovating multiple town playgrounds including Windsor Avenue Playground in Ward 3 and spearheading the design process for Tamaques Park in 2025
 Business Savvy – Jenn runs her own sleep consulting business
 Family oriented – Jenn and her husband Keith are raising two beautiful girls aged 15 and 13 who attend Westfield High School and Edison Middle School
 Completely Accessible – Jenn has been knocking on doors since April, regularly attends town events and uses social media and email to foster a 2-way dialogue with Ward 3 residents
 Friendly and Outgoing – If you haven’t met Jenn, you’re missing out. Jenn is super friendly and outgoing and definitely someone you’d enjoy having a conversation with
For all of these reasons, I strongly recommend voting for Jenn Gilman in this year’s Ward 3 Council race. If you love the changes that you’ve seen in Westfield over the past nearly eight years and want to see this progress continue, vote for Jenn Gilman who will bring her own “Fresh Ideas and Proactive Leadership” to town government for Ward 3. To learn more about Jenn's candidacy, visit

Gilman For Westfield Town Council Ward 3

10/25/2025

Reminder. Early voting started today. It’s super convenient - visit the early voting center at memorial pool. Open til 8pm today. Check unioncountyvotes.com for hours.

10/19/2025

Don’t miss a fun day of family activities at AddamsFest Family Fun Day on Sunday Oct 19. Details below!