Fair Haven Elections: A Chat with Mayoral Candidate Chris Rodriguez, Democrat

The mayoral race in Fair Haven pits two incumbents against one another: Republican Mayor Josh Halpern, who is running for his first full term after filling the unexpired term of former Mayor Ben Lucarelli; and, present Council President Chris Rodriguez, a Democrat who has served on the Fair Haven Borough Council since 2017 and is currently in the second year of his second full term.

Rodriguez’s first run for a council seat was in 2016. He lost that bid for election, but ended up serving in 2017 to fill the unexpired term of Aimee Humprheys who had resigned due to a move. He ran for his first full term in November of 2017 and won a full term, starting in 2018. He ran for a second term in 2020 and won. In all, he has served on the governing body for six years.

Here is R-FH Retro’s chat with Chris Rodriguez, who is vying for a first four-year term as mayor of Fair Haven …

Name, age, street address: Christopher Rodriguez, 49 years old, 134 Buttonwood Drive

How long have you been a Fair Haven resident? If you left and came back, when and why?

We have lived in Fair haven for just over 10 years. We moved here just before Sandy hit the area and have been active in the community since we arrived.

Where did you grow up? What one quality about your hometown do you see in Fair Haven? If you grew up in Fair Haven, what one thing would you like to see return or revert? What one thing has changed for the better?

I was born in Elizabeth, NJ and grew up primarily in Roselle, in Union County.

Roselle is a two-mile square town, much like the size of Fair Haven and shares some of the smalltown similarities with a quaint downtown business district, beloved parks and youth activities including sports and scouting.

Since I have been in town in the past ten years, I have noticed an increase in the volunteering going on in the Natural Area. Namely, the expansion of volunteer days and now crossing multiple days both in the spring and the fall. The willingness by the residents to get involved in this crown jewel is very encouraging. This is amplified with scouting involvement with tree planting programs resulting from recent Eagle Scout projects.

Is there an issue in Fair Haven that you feel needs to be addressed that has been too low a priority in your eyes? Something you think is prioritized too much at present?

I have been participating in our local government for eight years now and six years have been on the borough council. We can never focus enough efforts on safety and security. This extends to our pedestrians and cyclists regardless of age.

As an example, our council recently has worked with the residents and county for the past three (3) years to draw up plans to improve safety on River Road. We’ve executed on bike lanes, sharrows (share the road call outs), improved sight lines, increased number of cross walks and traffic calming techniques for the entire stretch of the road.

We need to continue to pursue and focus on our residents’ safety and security across a spectrum of categories which starts with supporting our wonderful women and men on our police force, fire company and first aid squad.

What is the focal point of your campaign for re-election? Which issue would you like to see through to effective resolution? Which new issue would you like to tackle?

This mayoral campaign doesn’t have a single focal point, rather, this is a multi-faceted job and as a result, requires focus and positions on many important topics. If I was forced to pick one, it would be to finish addressing the working conditions for our police department and our department of public works, namely the buildings they work in.

Many councils have come and gone, and I am hopeful the next governing body will finally put a shovel in the ground and start swinging some hammers to address the facilities issues for our valued boro staff that service the community every day and night.

Tell us about your educational and professional backgrounds and area of expertise. What about your profession or area of study in college is a little-known, not obvious, fact that will make you a stronger public servant?

My career is focused on financials services and it’s supported by relevant college/graduate degrees. My expertise is in corporate bonds and interest rate swaps. I deploy these skills on the finance committee and in everyday decision making as the Borough Council president.

The less obvious area of study would have to be my life-long dedication to scouting as a way to educate myself and our youth on leadership, civics and life skills including first aid, managing emergencies, service projects, orienteering and others functional skills.

I joined scouts as a 1^st grader and started to learn leadership skills becoming Eagle Scout and deploying those skills as a teenager. This makes leadership and teamwork second nature to me in my role on the governing body. I can trace my participation in public service back decades and don’t see any end in sight.

What do you consider the most negative aspect of your personality? How do you think that could be positive attribute that would benefit the public in your capacity as a public servant? For instance: A stubborn streak could be seen as tenacity or passion in issues and fuel getting the job done.

This is a tricky question — to ask someone about their negative aspects. I want to say all of the candidates are human and of course can improve in many areas of life. As an optimistic person, I am generally positively disposed and like to move our community forward.

I don’t know if I have negative characteristics that I can attribute as a benefit to Fair Haven. If anything, my patience, willingness to serve and commitment have a negative impact on my wonderful wife and children. Is it fair to them, maybe not, but they support me and my public endeavors. I see Fair Haven being a beneficiary of this.

Mayoral candidates: Which mayor of any municipality in the state, past or present, do admire most and why? Specifically, their handling of a major issue and/or interaction with their residents and its impact.

I can’t say I have a mayoral role model. My service to Fair Haven is purely local and my motivations are transparent to our residents in that I am service minded. If there is a mayor that exemplifies this approach, then that is the mayor I would admire most. I am confident there are thousands of mayors with the same approach.

Over the past five years, I have tried to draw on the public’s feedback to set priorities and drive an agenda that addresses these concerns…with broader public involvement, we get better results.

It’s obvious that Fair Haven is a suburban utopia of sorts. What atypical imperfection in the borough attracted you to it?

I love the historical streetscapes of Fair Haven that has grown organically over the century plus. A great example is of the three streets: Hayes, Fisk and Parker. Each block changes names as a cross street intersects; each name is significant to the boro.

Or the wonderful side streets off of the historic district like Riverlawn and Haggers and even the latest addition of Captain’s Way. The history of Brown’s Lane is also wonderful story. There are too many to name here, but it’s the history of our growth as a community in a natural way playing out in our streets.

Who was your mentor growing up? What was their best, most simple advice to you? How have you applied it in your personal life? How will you apply it as a public servant?

I would point to my father who was also a public servant, a volunteers and a scout leader. He dedicated his spare time to community service and I owe a debt of gratitude to him for passing this on to me. Though he is not with us today, his passion burns bright inside of me and my actions. I try to show people through service rather than ask them for service. I learned that form my pop.

Incumbents: What do you think is the most misunderstood aspect of local municipal officials’ work and/or character? What measures do you think you have taken to change that or make it better understood?

We are all volunteers. I would love for every person in the community to get involved in some aspect of the community whether it’s as a first aid EMT, fire company member, or on one of the many commissions, committees, boards, or through scouting, recreation sports, PTA or some other contributing organization. Through this type of service, we can all appreciate what it takes to run the government effectively.

Fair Haven Borough Council members and mayor are volunteer public servants. No pay or benefits are involved. One-on-one accessibility is something many do not realize is a key part of the unpaid job, especially for a small town.

While delegation and referrals to a “team” behind the scenes may work in business for management, it is, more often than not, off-putting to residents seeking personal connection beyond a nod and handshake with those who represent them and their interests. Do you answer emails and calls and social media questions yourself and meet in person with those who reach out to you with concerns? What is your accessibility policy or what will it be?

Generally, I do my best to be accessible. I try to be responsive and take actions I would expect others in the same position to take. I believe our community sees my service, and has seen and heard my responses over the years. I think my record stands up and like I said, I do the absolute best I can day to day. Is there room for improvement? Always, but I promise to continue my approach.

Which resident not on any of the boards or commissions do you admire most for their tenacity and drive in getting involved and spearheading a needed change? What was the issue?

Reviving the veterans’ recognition in town this year.

Resident: Carissa Gaborow

During the pandemic in the fall of 2020, the boro had gone to great lengths to recognize our Veterans and celebrate Veterans Day through a combination of volunteers and organizations including the Roc committee, council involvement, resident volunteers and the Foundation of Fair Haven. We had worked to gather Veteran demographic data, design, create and place signs on lawns of our Veterans. This was well received.

In 2022, Carissa has revived this effort and has worked with the full complement of volunteers. The plan is to continue this effort annually. I have had conversations with Carissa and admire her effort and drive around this special recognition of the bravest among us. It is the least we can do as a community for those that served our country and put their lives on the line for the freedom we enjoy every day.

Fair Haven is 110 years old. What aspect of its history do you value most and think has been forgotten or not revered enough and should be entwined with modern day Fair Haven to preserve the uniqueness in its character?

Bicentennial Hall in a landslide. The history and character encapsulated in that building is a standout for me. I support any effort to preserve, enhance and find modern uses for the building. It is one of our oldest existing structures in town. Many people know this, but it was moved from its original location on Fisk to its current location on Cedar. The building dates back to 1882 and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The building pays homage to the area’s first African American community.

A generation of Fair Havenites have dedicated countless hours to preserving the structure for future generations. As a community, we plan to undertake an effort to update the ADA access for all of our residents to enjoy the historical nature of the former chapel. There is a renewed effort to crowd-source funds to maintain and care for the structure beyond what the municipality and broader governmental agencies are already putting into the building.

Let’s have a little fun. Tell us more about your personality. Favorite color? Book? Song? Movie? Entertainer? Activity now and when a kid? Favorite place in Fair Haven? (Could be your front porch, the Acme, a field, the river … any place).

My family moved to Fair Haven because we fell in love with the character of the town. We live on Buttonwood Drive and there are wonderful “London Planetrees” that line our street and go straight through our property leading to the old McCarter estate in Rumson across Ridge Road.

We can look out our front door and see the 100+ year old trees that lined the old winding driveway which starts near Sickels school and winds through the River Oaks neighborhood and through our yard. We’re blessed to be the stewards of these enormous trees for the time we will be living in our home.

What is a little-known fact about you or your background that you’d like to share? Anything else you would like to emphasize about your candidacy?

We all serve at the pleasure of our residents. It continues to be an honor for me to act in this capacity. I will do my best to account for the demands of the municipality and serve our residents regardless of party affiliation.

At this level of governing, there is no Democratic way to pay the cops and there is no Republican way to pick up the leaves; there is just good people involved in government for the sake of doing the right thing. This was true before I got involved and will remain true going forward. Fair Haven is in good hands.

** Editor’s note: All candidates were provided with the same questionnaire. The responses are being published in the order in which they were received. At R-FH Retro, we strive for complete balance in coverage. All candidates were also offered the option of paid advertising in the form of linked photo campaign ads on this hyperlocal news website. Every year, both parties have accepted. This year, the Republicans declined. That is the only reason for the absence of Republican campaign ads. We do not endorse. **