Thompson Mitchell

3-year term: January 1, 2022 to December 31, 2024

Thompson (Tom) Mitchell has served on the Borough Council continually since January 2004. He served on the Finance Committee from 2004 through 2017 and helped to control spending. During his first decade on Council, property taxes increased 55% while the property values increased 85%, according to census reports. This was done while maintaining services and reducing debt.

On the Downtown Redevelopment Committee, he helped get our shopping center built, including ShopRite, the new multipurpose building on Main St., and the Division St. pedestrian mall.

As liaison to the Raritan Valley Rail Coalition, Tom worked with communities along our rail line to get the 1-seat train ride to Manhattan and pushed for the Somerville Railroad Station improvement.

As liaison to the Historic Advisory Committee, Tom helped to get Borough Hall listed on the National Register of Historic Places, making it eligible for restoration grants. He then helped get grants to restore Borough Hall and our Fire Museum.

As Environmental Commission liaison, Tom worked on The Raritan River Greenway, the Rain Barrel program, the Rain Garden program, the Community Forestry Plan and the Sustainable Jersey and River-Friendly Certifications. He also worked with the County and Public Service to implement Solar Power and energy efficiency projects. With the Commission, he is working to monitor the landfill cleanup.

Working with the Raritan Valley Sewer Authority and Somerville Sewer Utility, he helped acquire manhole cover sewer monitors to detect backups and to begin a leakage study of our sanitary sewer system and a program to eliminate the sewer overflow problem at Southside Park.

Tom is now retired from a career as an independent software design consultant and telecommunications systems engineer. He first moved to Somerville in 1976 where he met his wife, Helena. They have four grown children. Tom has been a volunteer with the Boy Scouts since 1993, and has run a district-wide food drive every year since 1994. He and his wife, Helena, became Somerville property owners in 1983 when they purchased the J. Harper Smith estate at 228 Altamont Place. They worked 15 years to restore it, after which it was honored with placement on the National Register of Historic Places. For many years, the Mitchells opened their home to guided tours one weekend every fall as a benefit for the Somerville Police.

As a councilmember, Tom is chair of the Public Property Committee and vice-chair of the Public Works Committee. He is council liaison for: CDBG, NJ Transit Railroad Coalition, Ridewise, Regional Center Partnership and the Historic Advisory Committee.