Tinton Falls Council unanimously appointed borough planning board chair Robert Clayton to the vacant council seat. FILE PHOTO
By Sunayana Prabhu
TINTON FALLS – The governing body has appointed longtime resident and planning board chairman Robert P. Clayton to fill the council seat left vacant after Kashyap S. Parikh’s resignation.
Clayton will serve the remainder of Parikh’s unexpired council term, which ends Dec. 31, 2027. Clayton’s swearing-in ceremony is scheduled for the council’s Oct. 6 meeting.
The council invited qualified residents to submit resumes and letters expressing their interest in serving on the council. After reviewing submissions through the open applications process, the council voted unanimously on a resolution during its Sept. 15 meeting to appoint Clayton to the role.
Clayton has lived in Tinton Falls since 1998 with his wife and their two sons, according to the borough’s Sept. 17 statement on his appointment. His community involvement includes more than a decade of service. He has held several positions with the Tinton Falls Little League, including vice president and player agent from 2005 to 2016. He has served on the Tinton Falls Planning Board since 2013 and as vice chair in 2022 and 2023. Since 2024, borough records show Clayton has served as planning board chair. He will resign from the planning board before taking the oath of office as a council member.
As planning board chair, Clayton has reviewed land-use and development applications, heard public testimony and worked with the borough’s planners, engineers and attorneys. Borough officials said that experience has given him familiarity with the development, infrastructure and quality-of-life issues facing Tinton Falls.
Mayor Risa Clay said she was looking forward to working with Clayton and called him “an excellent addition to the Council.”
Clayton also brings a telecommunications background to the council. He currently works as a telecommunications systems analyst with the New Jersey Office of Information Technology. He joined the state after retiring from Verizon in 2021. According to the borough, his telecommunications career began with New Jersey Bell in 1990.
Parikh resigned from the council Aug. 28, following his arrest by the Tinton Falls police Aug. 23. He is charged with simple assault and purposely and knowingly causing bodily injury in an alleged domestic violence matter, according to municipal court records. Because Parikh was an elected official, the borough transferred his case from Tinton Falls to Keansburg Municipal Court to avoid a conflict of interest, according to borough officials. The matter is scheduled for a proceeding there Oct. 8.
This article originally appeared in the September 24-30, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
