The Belleville township clerk’s office is a generally a bustling place, where a resident might need help with a liquor license one minute, then another submitting an Open Public Records Act request, while a third is applying for a raffle license.
For new Municipal Clerk Jacky Guaman, being at the nexus of activity in Belleville is precisely how she likes it.
Guaman says the fast-paced and multifaceted nature of her work helping with the day-to-day operations of Belleville allows her to assist many more people each day at town hall.
“I enjoy it so much,” Guaman, who was appointed to the role by a 6-0 vote at recent meeting of the Mayor and Township Council, said. “I enjoy helping everyone, getting my hands involved in everything here. I know it’s a lot of work, but it’s different type of work because I’m not just concentrating on one role. I deal with multiple things.”
Said Mayor Michael Melham: “Jacky has often gone above and beyond the call of duty, and there is probably no greater example of that than how she often helps our Spanish-speaking residents. For instance, she has helped many residents navigate the application process to obtain state-funded, zero-interest loans through the Home Improvement Program. The fact that Jacky is bilingual — not to mention Belleville-proud — is a huge asset for our town.”
It was a series of seemingly unrelated events that led to Guaman becoming the township clerk.
She originally worked in the medical field as a sonographer, before taking a job with the township as an aide. Construction in Town Hall forced her to vacate her work space and take up temporary residence in the clerk’s office.
The move allowed her to have a close-up view as then-clerk Kelly Cavanagh went about serving the township.
“I got along with Kelly very well and I was intrigued by her job, everything that she did,” Guaman said. “I wanted to learn more about the municipality, so I started taking the municipal clerk classes. I wanted to know the ins and outs of an ordinance, what the job of a clerk entails, all those things.”
After passing the requisite state classes, she went to work as the deputy clerk under Cavanagh.
Guaman approached her duties, which included serving as the secretary to Melham and the Township Council, with such energy and enthusiasm that Cavanagh would tell Guaman she would be a great candidate to one day replace her.
Guaman feels like this is where she was always meant to be.
She was born in Ecuador; her family then moved to the United States. They originally moved to Chicago, before settling in Newark. That’s where Guaman grew up.
Guaman ultimately bought a house in Belleville, settled down and found a home here over the past 18 years, getting involved in the PTA at various schools and the Woman’s Club of Belleville.
She’s able to use her deep connections in the community to help residents in ways that aren’t listed on her job description. For instance, she will often field calls from residents who have just lost jobs or are facing a financial crisis and have nowhere to turn.
Guaman is able to connect them with local food pantries or reached out to the Michael Melham Civic Association to procure gift cards to help families get by.
She said she gets that type of compassion — not to mention her work ethic — from her late father, Leonidas.
She watched as he built a company from meager beginnings to the point where it became a trusted subcontractor with a fleet of dump trucks. Leonidas got plenty of help from his wife, Martha, who did the billing.
Sometimes, you’d catch young Jacky under the hood of one of the trucks, helping her dad make repairs.
“My parents were always very involved, always helping someone, always helping a neighbor,” Guaman said. “My dad was always big on giving because you may need that help sometime in the future or your kids might need it. I always say I can help anyone. I don’t need a thank you. I just want things to get done.”
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.