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Mayor Adrian O. Mapp


MAYOR 1

Mayor’s Bio

Elected November 5th, 2013, Four-Year Term
Re-Elected November 7, 2017, Four Year Term

Re-Elected November 2, 2021, Four Year Term

Background
In January 2022, Adrian O. Mapp was sworn in for a historic third term as Mayor of the City of Plainfield. Since assuming office in 2014, he has embarked on an aggressive agenda focused on rebuilding the city’s economy and ensuring opportunity for all residents. Under his stewardship, the city is experiencing an economic renaissance marked by a billion dollars in new redevelopment projects. He has also successfully implemented progressive legislation focused on fairness and equity including new laws requiring paid sick leave for workers.

In keeping with his commitment to uplift every part of the city, there are development projects underway in every ward. These projects include new single-family homes, mixed-use and multifamily buildings, and commercial developments. In 2014, under Mayor Mapp’s leadership, the New Jersey Department of Transportation awarded Plainfield a Transit Oriented Designation, which was an important catalyst for its economic resurgence. The city was also granted New Jersey Future’s 2015 Smart Growth Award for its transformative “Netherwood Transit-Oriented Development Plan,” which is ushering in new high-quality retail, housing, and employment opportunities.

In 2017, Mayor Mapp cut the ribbon on a 44,000 SF state-of-the-art facility for ABC Supply Company. This $30 million project revitalized a brownfield site that was vacant for 30 years and is the largest mixed-use redevelopment project in the Fourth Ward in over 50 years. The next phase of this development featured an ultra-modern structure with a luxury layout and high-end fixtures and finishes for 90 units of workforce housing. The Station at Grant will hold its ribbon cutting in Spring of 2021. With a focus on Quality of life, major infrastructure changes include paving fifty percent of Plainfield’s streets to date and investing several million dollars to improve recreational spaces across the city.

As part of his effort to ensure equal access to opportunity, Mayor Mapp has implemented several major policy initiatives aimed at addressing economic inequality and health disparities. These initiatives include Plainfield Promise and Healthy Plainfield. Most notably, Plainfield Promise seeks to provide every child in kindergarten, whose parent(s) or guardian(s) reside in Plainfield, with a bank account for college savings as well as financial literacy training. Additionally, it will create a scholarship fund for economically disadvantaged high school graduates who live in Plainfield to attend Union County College. It will also create targeted vocational and job training initiatives. Since 2018, the city has offered free Cisco classes and certification to Plainfield residents, creating new careers, and improving lifestyles in the community.

Prior to his mayoral election, Mayor Mapp served the City of Plainfield for 16 years as a Councilman and was also a Union County Freeholder from 2005 to 2007. A certified public accountant and municipal finance specialist, Mayor Mapp is currently the Director of Finance and the Qualified Purchasing Agent for the city of Orange Township. The Mayor currently serves on the Local Finance Board for the State of New Jersey and is the Chairman of the NJ Black Mayors Alliance. He is also the Vice President of the New Jersey Urban Mayors Association.

Mayor Mapp’s successes and service have not gone unrecognized; he has received awards from numerous organizations including the Plainfield Fire Officer’s Association; the Gateway Regional Chamber of Commerce; NJ Center for Science, Technology & Mathematics; the National Forum of Black Public Administrators (NFBPA); Genesis Seventh-day Adventist Church; and the Improved Benevolent and Protective Order of ELKS of the World.
Mayor Mapp was honored by the Consulate General of Ecuador in NJ for bringing about change to the diverse cultures in the community, the Rotary Club of Plainfield/North Plainfield for his steadfast approach to enhancing the quality of life for residents and property owners in the city of Plainfield, and he received the Service Above Self Award from the Rotary Club of Plainfield.

Mayor Mapp is a member of the NJ Conference of Mayors (NJCM), the U.S. Conference of Mayors (USCM), the New Jersey State League of Municipalities (NJLM), the American Institute of CPAs (AICPA), the NJ Legislative Committee, the Gateway Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Government Finance Officers Association of NJ (GFOA).

Mayor Mapp was born on the Caribbean Island of Barbados and migrated to the United States in 1977. He has resided in Plainfield for over 40 years and is married to his childhood sweetheart, Amelia Mapp, née Morris; they are the proud parents of two beautiful daughters, Shermona and Ayisha. Mayor Mapp and his family are active members of Saint Mark’s Episcopal Church in Plainfield, where he and Amelia were married over 40 years ago. Mayor Mapp served on the vestry and was a devoted Sunday School Teacher and mentor for many years.

Mayor Mapp holds an M.B.A. in International Business from Fairleigh Dickinson University, a B.S. in Accounting from Rutgers University, and an A.A. in Public Administration from Union County College. He is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Certified Municipal Finance Officer (CMFO), and a Qualified Purchasing Agent (QPA).