In January, Merchantville's Mayor Ted Brennan announced that he was not running for re-election. At that time he proudly endorsed Ray Woods for Mayor and Ruby Delarosa and Sean Fitzgerald for Borough Council expressing confidence that their team would continue to meet the needs of our residents first while offering a “next generation of leadership” that can continue the work of his administration while bringing new energy to local issues most critical to our town.
Mayor Brennan's nearly two decades of service and leadership to Merchantville - alongside three years of crucial utility oversight as a Commissioner for MPWC - has transformed the town, leaving a lasting legacy of collaborative, forward-thinking projects.
Mayor Ted Brennan and the Merchantville Borough Council have focused their decades-long leadership on revitalizing the borough’s downtown business district - cultivating a vibrant downtown core, significantly expanding green initiatives and public infrastructure, and championing community wellness. They successfully introduced "Buy Local" business campaigns and created expanded opportunities and regular events to support local merchants. They headed major town investments, including the highly anticipated restoration and reuse of the town bank property and TAP project to build a new pedestrian corridor and streetscape inside the Borough’s Redevelopment Site.
They have prioritized lowering the community tax burden by seeking out shared service opportunities with adjacent municipalities rather than merging full operations. They successfully secured critical financial resources from federal partners to fund safety and accessibility upgrades along the town's premier recreational amenity, the Merchantville Mile multi-use path. They have successfully shepherded the modernization of the local business district, actively working with small businesses to foster new investment opportunities. Mayor Brennan regularly collaborates with nearby municipalities through events hosted by the Pennsauken-Merchantville Area Chamber of Commerce (PMAC) to share regional business strategies and economic development initiatives. His leadership emphasizes government transparency and public accessibility, partnering with Camden County for regional town hall events to maintain strong connections with local residents. Successfully led the borough's sesquicentennial celebrations for its 150th anniversary.
Mayor and Council have advanced Merchantville from a "Healthy Town Up-and-Coming" designation to being officially named a 2025 New Jersey "Healthy Town" by expanding physical activity, nutrition, and mental health programs. They have spearheaded several progressive environmental initiatives alongside the Merchantville Green Team, that include adopting a Sustainable Land Use Pledge and a Community Forestry Management Plan, establishing the "Market off Centre" weekly farmers market and expanding the "Incredible Edible Merchantville" community projects that donated hundreds of pounds of fresh produce to local food pantries. They have adopted ordinances making the town's public parks completely tobacco and smoke free, expanded local health and public safety resources, notably organizing early county-partnered COVID-19 educational sessions, maintaining high local vaccine access, and launching a Prescription Drug Collection program. He oversaw local responses to public health challenges, establishing partnerships with county health teams to host education and mental health clinics directly within the community. They have also routinely promoted internal leaders within the Merchantville Police Department and expanded their ranks to maintain a visible, localized presence in our community and preserve our neighborhoods.
Since 2012 Mayor Brennan and Council have secured $5,912,562 in major federal, state, and county grant funding for the Merchantville Borough to finance critical infrastructure, boost economic development, and enhance public services without overburdening local taxpayers.