Get Involved
Bernardsville is unique among towns due to its closely-knit yet also very welcoming community. Join our movement to keep Bernardsville charming, affordable, safe and fun for the next generation by signing up here.
About Us
Charlie Szrom first lived in Bernardsville in spring 2012, staying with his wife's grandparents while commuting into New York before he and his wife moved to New Jersey from Washington, DC. Bernardsville remained at the center of Charlie and his wife Jaclyn's hearts and, a decade after moving to New Jersey, Charlie and Jaclyn moved to Bernardsville full-time in 2022. In Bernardsville, Charlie serves on the board of the Somerset Hills Ball Club baseball organization (as well as coaching a couple of his kids' baseball teams), helps to lead the dad's group at his children's school and helps to lead the men's group at his church.
Professionally, Charlie is the founder of Townsmith Advisory, a firm that provides strategic advice to small businesses in traditional industries. Formerly, as Senior Director of Corporate Development for a large technology company, Charlie led strategic transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, for the company's largest business unit and advised on overall strategy. Charlie formerly led investments in public growth technology firms for a large asset management firm. Prior to that, in DC, Charlie managed a foreign policy research program for the American Enterprise Institute; he graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in Political Science and History from Indiana University and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) charterholder.
Rich Traynor has lived in Bernardsville for the past 18 years with his wife, Amy (a paraprofessional at Bedwell Elementary School) and their three children, Declan, Finn and Lorelei (currently a junior at Bernards High School). Rich grew up right down the road in Mendham, and attended Delbarton School, the University of Notre Dame, and the University of Virginia School of Law. Rich’s roots in Bernardsville go back generations to when his great-great grandfather (Thomas Liddy) emigrated to Bernardsville from Ireland in the 1850’s. His great-grandfather (Martin Liddy) was the first fire chief of the Bernardsville fire department and ran a grocery store on Olcott Square with his brother Thomas. Like his forebears, Rich has been deeply involved in the community for years, serving on the Zoning Board of Adjustment for over 12 years, coaching youth sports, serving as a religious education teacher at his local church, and being appointed in January to fill a vacant seat on the Borough Council.
Rich has practiced law for the past 27 years before retiring from full-time practice in 2024. Rich began his legal career as a real estate attorney, becoming a partner at a large NJ law firm, and is well-versed in local municipal and land use law. Rich spent the latter half of his legal career working for companies in the life sciences industry, most recently serving as General Counsel for a publicly traded software and services company that uses computer modeling and AI to help develop safer, more effective, and more affordable medical products.
Priorities
A Downtown We Can All Be Proud Of
- Focus on downtown core to achieve a town center that provides public amenities like open space, a public plaza, and more than adequate parking, while ensuring any new development is scaled appropriately for our town
- Relieve downtown and Mt Airy Rd congestion by working with the state to ensure proper timing on traffic signals
- Improve streetscape and parking to encourage adaptive reuse of vacant or underutilized retail spaces, including the train station
Protect Taxpayer Dollars
- Lessen the increasing burden on taxpayers by limiting municipal property taxes to make life more affordable here
- Take a fresh look at the details of spending using our perspective as a new team with experience in financial analysis
- Invest in technology, automation and other capital expenditures to reduce operating expenses over the long run
Keep Bernardsville Safe & Fun
- Continue track record of working with and supporting the Bernardsville Police Department to keep our families and property safe
- Open up more outdoor space, including via enhancement of Polo Ground, upgrades to the pool and more walking trails
- Offer more events to engage young and old, new and existing families, building on the great work of Main Street Bernardsville, the local youth sports and recreation organizations, and other community groups
Donate
Your contributions help fuel our campaign to keep Bernardsville charming, affordable, safe and fun by putting our community first. Donations are securely processed and will go directly to supporting campaign efforts, outreach, and events.
Donate here.
How to Vote
How Do I Register To Vote?
Please visit New Jersey's Online Voter Registration website:
https://voter.svrs.nj.gov/register
Where Do I Vote?
Find your District and polling location at: https://voter.svrs.nj.gov/polling-place-search
- Districts 1, 2, and 7: Bernardsville Library, 1 Anderson Hill Road
- Districts 3, 4, and 5: First Presbyterian Church, 321 Mine Brook Road
- District 6: St. John’s On The Mountain, 379 Mount Harmony Road
When Do I Vote?
Primary Election: June 10, 2025 | Polls Open: 6AM–8PM
How Do I Vote By Mail?
Please print, fill out, and mail this application from the Somerset County Clerk:
Mail-in Ballot Application
Once you receive your ballot, fill it out and drop it off at the dropbox in front of Borough Hall (166 Mine Brook Rd) to make sure your vote counts!