Townie Tidbits: Police, Politics & Side Notes

There have been a lot of changes in the Rumson-Fair Haven area lately, especially in Fair Haven.

With change, rumors tend to spread rampantly. Local governing body meeting attendance, even with the Zoom platform, remains low. Always has been, unless, of course, there’s an issue that raises the ire of residents, particularly in their back yard. Those sorts of issues are called NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) issues.

Sometimes the local governing body’s process and realm of authority gets misunderstood. Understandably. And, let’s face it, meetings can be quite boring.

So, a new weekly or bi-weekly update in Townie Tidbits, Meeting Notes and/or Business Buzz will be R-FH Retro’s way of keeping you informed in a more fun, succinct way, with the “why” and “how” of issue or procedure background to understand local government process and some tidbits of truth heard around the towns. Truth. We will keep you posted on what we’re hearing from reliable, verified sources without giving them up in some cases and some direct classic quotes from residents and/or officials along the way.

This week’s tidbits is a catch-all FYI on elections, police and promotions and how things work in these realms of local government, so it’s a bit more dry than the usual will be. But it’s informative.

So, give our review a read and get the scoop on how it all really works.

Police …

Most everyone knows by now that there’s a new police captain in Fair Haven. Well, he’s not new, just in the position. Bob Townshend, who grew up in Fair Haven, has been on the force since 1994, when he was first hired as a dispatcher. In 1995, he became a Special Law Enforcement Officer (SLEO) Class II, then a patrolman in 1999, detective in 2006, sergeant in 2007, lieutenant in 2015 and now captain, the highest rank under chief.

The last captain, in 2015, was the chief himself, Joe McGovern. Before that, for many years, there was no captain since the retirement of Paul McCue in 2006. Through 2006, there was always a captain in the department, McGovern said.

Did you know? Police departments are run either as civil service departments, with testing according to state civil service guidelines and promotions accordingly, or what’s dubbed chief’s towns. Chief’s towns, which is how Fair Haven’s department is run, promote by appointment and approval of the chief and the governing body in the municipality.

Chief McGovern said that while Townshend’s promotion left the lieutenant position unfilled, “yes, we plan on moving forward with a lieutenant (appointment) in the near future.”

Politics …

Voting in New Jersey different this year. While the actual Election Day remains the same, the first Tuesday of November, this year Nov. 2, this year a law was passed to allow for early in-person voting.

That started on Oct. 23. Check out Monmouth County Clerk Christine Giordano Hanlon’s video on where to go and what to do and full guidance on procedure with new voting machines, as well as polling places. Go to monmouthcountyvotes.com to get the full scoop.

In Rumson …

Rumson incumbent Borough Council candidates are running uncontested this year.

The Republican incumbents’ seats that are up for grabs are those of Sarah Pomphrey and John Conklin III. Both are running for re-election. Conklin is council president.

There are no Democrats in the running.

Rumson has remained all-GOP run for many years.

Rumson Mayor Joseph Hemphill’s term expires in 2023.

Did you know? The mayor in Rumson, as in Fair Haven, is elected separately from council members and for a four-year rather than three-year term.

Rumson Borough Council members are: Laura Atwell, Jerry Casazza, John Conklin, J. Clayton Kingsbery, Sarah Pomphrey and Rob Swikart.

In Fair Haven …

In a borough governing body that has been run by a Republican majority, if not all-GOP dais, the past few elections have changed that.

The six-member council now has four seated Democrats and two Republicans. The Democrats won the majority on the dais with last year’s election. Council President Chris Rodriguez won another term and his running mate, Laline Neff won her first.

With the two seats of incumbent Republican Betsy Koch and Suzanne McCabe, who filled an unexpired term, up for grabs, Koch is running for re-election with newcomer to the race, Tracy Cole.

More on the candidates with R-FH Retro’s candidates’ chat in Q&A form starting tomorrow morning.

And, yes, there’s a new mayor. Joshua Halpern.

Did you know? A lot of people don’t realize that the mayor in Fair Haven doesn’t vote on resolutions and ordinances, those local laws and official agreements. He, however, does only in the event of a tie.

This form of government is referred to as strong council, weak mayor. The mayor does, however, have veto power; and he presides over meetings.

After Ben Lucarelli resigned as mayor in September after a 10-year stint in the position, it was up to the local Republican Committee, as Lucarelli is a Republican, to round up a list of candidates to fill his unexpired term. Lucarelli was to be mayor until the end of 2022.

Again, the mayor in Fair Haven is elected separately from council members and serves four- rather than the three-year terms of council members.

Did you know? This is referred to as Borough form of municipal government and Elected Governing Body and Elected Chief Executive pattern of municipal organization. There are three.

Halpern, 42, was chosen from a pool of three, including himself and current Councilwoman Betsy Koch and former Council President Jon Peters. He has no municipal governing body experience. Halpern has lived in Fair Haven since 2011. We will have a chat with him soon.

He has presided over a special meeting, a regular council meeting (tonight) and an event so far. The special meeting last week was designed to strike a compromise with respect to the Cooney Terrace/Hance Road loop sidewalk and road improvements that garnered a large grant and, of course, there was the Halloween parade and party at the firehouse on Sunday and tonight’s regular council meeting.

Here he is announcing a parade costume winner … Oh, and the winner was a little parrot who had a lot to say!

And when it comes to diving in and taking the mic, at his first event as mayor and the dais, that is exactly what Halpern has been up to. Check out our Fair Haven Meeting Notes update on tidbits from last week’s special meeting and tonight’s council meeting tomorrow morning.

In the meantime, check out your council candidates, stay safe, stay informed. I’ll see you around the towns! Congratulations to Mayor Halpern and new Police Captain Bob Townshend!