Jamaica has something to celebrate this week after a native became the new Mayor of the Borough of Highland Park in Middlesex County, New Jersey.

Jamaica-born Elsie Foster was elected during a special Borough Council meeting on January 24.

He is the Council President and had been Acting Mayor since the start of the year, will serve as Mayor until the end of 2023. Replacing the former Mayor, Gayle Brill Mittler, who resigned on December 31.

In her remarks following her election, Foster said, “I’m complimented by the confidence my colleagues on the council have placed in me.”

“I look forward to working with them and with the residents to improve on the affordability, sense of community, and opportunities in our town,” she added.

Forster from Deeside in Trelawny, has given some 22 years of service on the Borough Council and over that time, has served on all the council’s committees.

She was Borough Council president for eight years.

She also has other hats, including the President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Aunt Elsie’s Homestays, an international student housing organization.