By Allison Perrine
RUMSON – Borough councilman Mark Rubin, the longest-sitting member of the current council, has resigned from public office after serving the borough for 15 years.
Effective Feb. 1, Rubin’s resignation comes with a desire to “enjoy some free time,” he said in a letter addressed to Mayor Joseph Hemphill. He wrote that after years of serving the town as a councilman, emergency management coordinator, planning board member and a sitting member of various committees, he respectfully submitted his resignation.
“Fifteen years I’ve been serving on the planning board and the council. I just wanted to resign. I think I’ve done my service to the town. I think the town is being run very well – got a lot done,” he said on a call with The Two River Times. “I hope somebody younger comes in to sit on the council in my place.”
With a vacant seat now on the dais, Mayor Joseph Hemphill said he anticipates that the Rumson Republican Committee will provide three nominations to fill the void before the next council meeting, currently scheduled for Feb. 16. The council will select one of the nominees to fill in for Rubin temporarily, he added. That person will then run for the position in the Primary Election in June and again in the General Election in November.
“The Borough Council and I are going to miss Mark’s contributions. He has been a good friend and leader for the Borough of Rumson. His heart is, and always has been, in the right place,” Hemphill wrote to The Two River Times. “Rumson is blessed to have a number of individuals willing to volunteer their time, energy and knowledge for this Borough and their fellow residents.”
Rubin was born in Long Branch and graduated from Red Bank High School in 1965 and later from Monmouth College, now Monmouth University, according to the Rumson Republican Club website. He moved to Rumson in 1975 where he and his wife CJ still reside with no plans of moving.
He considers his top accomplishments on the dais to be the consolidation of the police department into the new Rumson Borough Hall, securing about $7.4 million to rebuild after Super Storm Sandy, supporting more shared services with adjoining towns, moving to private trash and recycling pickups “which allow our DPW to keep our town even more beautiful” and saving “significant revenue,” he said.
Overall, Rubin said he “thoroughly enjoyed” his time serving the town and fully supports the current council. He called Rumson “one of the best-run towns around.”
Hemphill thanked Rubin for his work on the council and elsewhere in the borough. “His presence on Borough Council, the Planning Board and OEM, just to name a few, will be greatly missed. That said, I look forward to seeing him and his wife CJ around town and at our community events, once we are able to safely return to public gatherings,” he said.
On the Rumson Republican Club website, Rubin added that he thinks “Rumson is one of the most beautiful places to live; the residents and those who serve our town are people who genuinely care about Rumson and are such a pleasure to encounter here,” he said.
“Rumson’s schools have one of the greatest reputations for quality education, and I am always proud to tell people where I come from. Having spent most of my life here in this area, I can tell you that I consider Rumson as my ‘home town.’ Although I run on the Republican ticket, I consider myself to be independent; my only interests are to help maintain the quality of life and character of Rumson.”
And what are his plans moving forward? Continuing to live in Rumson and enjoy all it has to offer, he said.
“We love it here,” he said. “I’m still going to keep in touch with council and as this door closes, maybe going forward some other door will open.”
This article was originally published in the Feb. 11-17, 2021 edition of The Two River Times.
