SUMMIT, NJ — Local officials and community leaders expressed their condolences regarding the death of 48-year-old Councilman Matthew Gould, who died unexpectedly on Aug. 13 at Morristown Medical Center from a heart condition.
“An amazing human being left us all too soon on Tuesday,” Summit Mayor Nora G. Radest said in a statement released by her office. “Matt Gould was dedicated to our community and served as a creative force for good. Those of us who have been fortunate enough to know and work with Matt have lost a dear friend and an inspirational colleague.
“Matt leaves behind a beautiful family and many deep friendships that only he could have built. His joyful spirit, innate kindness and compassion will live on in each of us and it will be how we remember him always.”
Gould had lived in Summit for the past 11 years, and represented Ward 1 on the Summit Common Council for the past two years.
He was the council’s president pro tempore.
“Matt Gould had many impressive titles in his profession and in our community,” Rabbi Avi Friedman of Congregation Ohr Shalom in Summit said an emailed statement. “However, if we could ask him which titles were most important to him, he’d surely say: husband, father and friend. He will be sorely missed by all who had the good fortune to call him by one of those titles.”
Gould was elected with fellow Democrats Majorie Fox and Beth Little in 2017, flipping a 5-2 majority Republican council to a 4-3 Democratic majority.
“I cannot express the profound sorrow I feel at the death of my good friend, Matt, Summit Common Council President David Naidu said in a statement. “Beyond my personal loss, the City of Summit has lost a person who always advocated, in public and private, for those without strong voices, who passionately believed that we can improve the lives of our fellow residents, and who optimistically faced the future. He will never be replaced.”