Cranford Township Mayor Brian Andrews was elected to public office in 2020. In addition to serving on the Township Committee, he is a trustee of the Cranford Public Library and has chaired the Pedestrian and Cyclist Safety Committee. He serves on the board of the Cranford Fund for Educational Excellence and is an active volunteer in our community.

Brian is an international business and public policy professional with two decades of experience across management consulting, the corporate world, and government service. He currently serves as the Head of Public Policy at Audible. He previously served as a Diplomat for the U.S. Department of State across Democratic and Republican administrations, with assignments at the White House and Pentagon. He holds a Master’s in Public Policy from Princeton University and has been recognized for his entrepreneurship, ability to work collaboratively, and commitment to positive social impact.

Brian is raising two young children in the Cranford school system with his wife, Jill. Their family loves Cranford’s downtown, the Library, and all the community events. You can often see Brian around town walking his dog and enjoying a cup of Track 5 coffee.

Terrence Curran and his wife Kathleen have lived in Cranford for fifteen years, where they have raised their children.

At age 18, Terrence joined the Marine Corps, where he was deployed on the 11th MEU (Marine Expeditionary Unit) to the Persian Gulf and Western Pacific. Terrence loves to give back to his community and currently works as a trauma surgeon at a leading hospital.

After leaving the Marine Corps, Terrence returned to Jersey City, where he grew up and joined the Jersey City Police Dept. Then he decided to attend medical school and completed a post baccalaureate program at NJCU and Rutgers to complete the prerequisites for medical school. Before moving to Cranford, he served six years on the Jersey City school board. Locally, he fought against PSE&G’s plans to install monster power lines along the streets on Walnut and Lexington Avenues in 2019.

Mayor Kathleen Miller Prunty and her family have a long lineage in Cranford. She and her husband, who passed away in 2001, were both active volunteers and felt so fortunate to raise their three sons here. She now has two granddaughters currently growing up in Cranford.

Mayor Prunty’s history of public service is extensive. Having been first elected to the Cranford Township Committee in 2019, she was elected Deputy Mayor in 2020 and Mayor in 2021 and 2022. She has been a liaison for the Emergency Management Council, the Flood Advisory Committee, and the Swim Pool Advisory Board, to name a few. She also organized Cranford’s Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Committee. She stresses the importance of slowing down drivers within our community and sharing our roads with all commuters. Prunty is part of the Cranford Equity and Inclusivity Initiative and has been a member of the Cranford Township Planning Board since 2020.

Prior to her work as an elected official, Mayor Prunty was steadfast in her commitment to improve the local community. For over 20 years from 1997-2018, she was the director of Cranford’s Office of Downtown Business and Economic Development. She has played a major role in revitalizing our downtown, understanding the need to preserve the balance between a lively business community and well-kept residential neighborhoods. During her time as director, she was named 2017 Economic Development Director of the year.

“It has been an honor serving Cranford, particularly when residents have faced the enormous challenges of flooding and the pandemic,” said Mayor Prunty. “I am proud of accomplishments like starting a Township newsletter to bring news and updates to residents, attracting more residents to serve on boards and committees and holding neighborhood meetings on development and road projects. I remain committed to working hard to keep Cranford the wonderful community it is.”

Paul A. Gallo is currently the Public Safety Commissioner on the Cranford Township Committee. He has been an integral member of the Cranford community, having served on the board of the Downtown Management Corporation and currently serving on the board of the Cranford Jaycees, as well as previously served on the Pedestrian & Cyclist Safety Committee. He works in the cybersecurity industry and holds a Master’s in Forensic Computing from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

A resident of Cranford since 2012 with his wife Shannon and their two children, Paul loves the downtown corridor and enjoys eating at our numerous restaurants, walking around town, and participating in our many community events.

County Commissioner Bette Jane Kowalski was elected to her first term in 2004 and has been re-elected since then, serving as Chair of the Board in 2007 and 2019.

Currently, Commissioner Kowalski represents the County on the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority. As the federally authorized metropolitan planning organization for the 13-county northern New Jersey region, the NJTPA provides funding for major transportation improvement projects.

While on the Raritan Valley Rail Coalition, she helped to establish direct service to New York during off-peak hours on weekdays in 2014. The coalition continues to advocate for expanding that service and other rail improvements.

Commissioner Kowalski has worked with the County to add hundreds of acres of land to the Union County parks system, including a parcel added to Nomahegan Park in 2019. She has worked with federal and local officials on flood control for many years, succeeding in reactivating the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers study after it was stalled. Here in Cranford, she is a member of the Cranford River Maintenance Committee and regularly pitches in for river cleanups.

A supporter of the arts, Commissioner Kowalski frequently attends events in Union County’s diverse communities. She has also served on the Cultural and Heritage Programs Advisory Board, the Commission on the Status of Women, and the Committee on the Status of Libraries. She is a recipient of the Advocates for New Jersey History Government Leadership Award. The Union County Women’s Political Caucus honored her as a Notable Woman in Politics.

Commissioner Kowalski graduated from Cranford High School. She has an MA in Journalism from New York University, and a BA from Hunter College, where she graduated summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. She is married and lives in Cranford.

Ryan Cooper, an attorney based in Downtown Cranford, was elected Chairperson of the Cranford Democratic Municipal Committee in 2023. As founder of Cooper, LLC - Counselors at Law, Ryan advises clients on corporate transactions and commercial litigation in state and federal courts throughout the country. He has also, since 2017, served as the Township Attorney for the Township of Cranford. Ryan is a former member of the Cranford Board of Education, and previously formerly served as a Trustee and Board Secretary for the ACLU-NJ.

Ryan is a graduate of Rutgers College and Rutgers School of Law. He writes and lectures frequently on technology, privacy, and information management issues, and spent 7 years as a volunteer member of the New Jersey Supreme Court Ethics Committee for Union County.

He lives in Cranford with his wife and children.