Root appointed to vacant Westfield council seat

Emily Root has been appointed to fill a vacant seat on the Westfield Township Council.

She is replacing James Boyes, who resigned this month to obviate potential conflicts over a pair f redevelopment projects that are near his home.

Root was one of three names submitted to the council by the Democratic County Committee.

“I hope to give back to a town that has given me so much,” she said.  “I know we have a lot on our plate in the next few months.  “I look forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting to work on behalf of our Ward 1 residents and continue the progress that we’ve made in the last few years.”

Boyes was elected in 2019 and Root will need to run in a November 2022 special election to fill the remaining thirteen months of Boyce’s term.

The daughter of a police officer who later worked for the U.S. Department of State in diplomatic security, Root has operated her own speech therapy practice in Berkeley Heights for more than two decades.

“Being the daughter of a law enforcement officer gives me a profound respect for our men and women in blue, and a firsthand understanding of the importance and value of public service,”  stated Root. “Living abroad gave me a new perspective and an appreciation for what it means to be an American.”

Root was widowed in 2009 when her husband died of cancer.  She has been married to Bruno Tedeschi, a prominent public relations executive and Democratic leader, since 2015.