Shortway running for mayor

Harry Shortway, a former Vernon mayor and Township Council president, said he is running for mayor in the Nov. 7 election.

Sally Rinker, also a former mayor and councilwoman, has announced her candidacy.

The four-year term of Mayor Howard Burrell expires at the end of this year.

When he ran for office in 2019, he promised that if elected, he would serve only one term.

“As I come to the end of my four-year term, I see no reason not to go through with that commitment,” he said Wednesday, Aug. 2.

”Vernon Township is blessed with a host of good people who could serve our town well as its mayor, and it is my belief and hope that several of these individuals will step forward and run for election,” he added.

Thursday, Aug. 24 is the deadline for candidates to file petitions to run for municipal offices in Vernon. Voters will choose a mayor and three council members in the general election.

Two of the council members will serve full three-year terms and one will serve a two-year term. The mayor’s term is four years.

Cancer returns

Shortway resigned his Township Council seat last fall after saying he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer for the second time.

During the past year, he prioritized his health to cultivate clarity and strength, he said.

Shortway was the township’s second mayor who was directly elected, winning office in 2015. When his term expired, he was elected to the council, serving two years as its president.

He was diagnosed with prostate cancer during the 2015 mayoral run, and it was believed to have been removed through surgery. In June 2022, he said the cancer had returned.

He is a former detective sergeant of the West Milford Police Department. He also taught social studies and coached high school lacrosse, football and cross county teams.

His awards include Sussex County Mayor of the Year, Hometown Hero, Police Officer of the Year, Coach of the Year and Most Influential Teacher of the Year.