As the Township of Teaneck continues to mourn the death of its late mayor, Lizette Parker, the task is now underway to select her replacement.
Deputy Mayor Elie Katz is currently taking on the duties of the mayor after Parker’s death. The city council must select a replacement to fill the position by May 24. Voters will elect her replacement Nov. 8.
Whoever wins will finish the remainder of Parker’s term through 2018. Parker was the first African-American woman to serve as mayor of Teaneck.
Parker died April 24 at Holy Cross Hospital of a respiratory illness. She was 44. Her funeral was held earlier this month at Mount Olive Baptist Church in Hackensack, N.J.
Reports indicate that more than 500 people attended the funeral, including several politicians from across the state. Parker was buried at George Washington Memorial Park in Paramus, N.J.
She leaves behind her husband, Anthony, and their 4-year-old daughter, Alyssa. A scholarship has been created for her daughter by the Urban League of Bergen County, along with the “Lizette Parker Trailblazer Award” created by the local NAACP chapter, of which Parker was a member.
