Mahwah Township Council Candidate Profile: Rob Hermansen

In preparation for Tuesday’s election, Patch asked the four candidates running for an unexpired term on the Mahwah township council to fill out the following “Patch Candidate Profile.”

Below are the answers Patch received from Candidate Rob Hermansen.

Name: ​Robert G. Hermansen

Age: 44

Where did you grow up? Please tell us a little bit about your education and profession.

I grew up in Brooklyn and moved to Bergen County in 1983.  I have served in municipal and county government for the past 7 years.  I have a bachelor’s degree in Finance and am a certified Financial Advisor for a major brokerage firm, where I am currently First Vice President, Investments.

How long have you lived in Mahwah?    

I have lived in Mahwah for 12 years. My wife, Cheryl and I have been married for 17 years and we have four children who attend Bergen Academy and Mahwah Public Schools

Why are you running for a seat on the township council?

• I believe that with my experience as a Councilman and also as a Freeholder, I can add needed experience to the Council. There are some important [issues] that need to be addressed both near term and long term. I think we have to start formulating ways and plans of what we need to do effectively over 1, 3, and 5 years, as opposed to the ad hoc way we’ve been doing things.
• I support keeping Mahwah taxes low and stabilizing expenses. While a Freeholder, spending declined by nearly $1 million, stabilizing county taxes. This was the first time in 20 years the county’s budget decreased two years in a row.  
• I believe that with strong fiscal leadership, Mahwah will remain one of the top towns to live in New Jersey   
• I believe in hard work and service to the community, values instilled by my parents.  
• I am a strong proponent of senior programs and youth activities.  

Why do you feel you are the best candidate for the job?      

1. Experience in Government. I served on the Township Council for four years from 2006-2010 and understand municipal government, policies, and procedures.  I was the Council Liaison to Mahwah Board of Education, served on Mahwah’s Cable TV Committee, and was elected Council Vice President in 2009. I was the only Councilman who didn’t take a paycheck. Instead, I asked that the money be put towards the seniors and youth in recreation. To me, our seniors and our youth are really vital to our community.  I bring even broader budget and finance experience from my past role as a Bergen County Freeholder. Unlike my opponents, I will have no learning curve. None of the other candidates has ever been elected to public office.
2. Financial Background. I have a bachelor’s degree in Finance, plus 22 years of experience as a certified financial advisor for a major brokerage firm.  I understand budgets, including the 2% cap mandated by Governor Christie. As a Bergen County Freeholder, I was on the Budget Committee. I put two 0% increases through for the taxpayer.  None of the other candidates has this financial background or first-hand government experience.
3. Values.  I am a proud parent of four young children and value my family above all else.  As your Councilman, he will work tirelessly for Mahwah families and taxpayers. During the years I was on the Council, I helped create budgets that were lower than the year before, without cutting any services.   I am a strong supporter of Governor Christie who has previously recognized my leadership and supported me.  In the Governor’s words, “I ran with Rob Hermansen on the same ticket. I like Rob a lot. I have nothing but nice things to say.” [PolitickerNJ.com, March 12, 2012].  

What do you feel are some of the most important issues the township is facing?

Taxes, taxes, and taxes! When I ran for Council in 2006, it was about taxes. For anyone who runs in 2020 or 2050, it will still be about taxes. One of the things we’ve done is keep the budgets down. At the County level, I was able to bring two 0% increases when we had control of the budget. That’s extremely important.

Two other issues are about revenue. How do we create more revenue in this town without putting a burden on taxpayers? We were able to bring in the New York Stock Exchange. That was something we were able to do under Mayor Martel and the Council. This was effective for the town and didn’t hurt us.  I think we need to continue to do some of those things.

The last thing we must do is figure out how to do more with less; that is, with the same amount of money that we have and not cut any of our services. Again, that’s something we were able to do. We have been decreasing budgets. During the years I was on the Council, we put in successive budgets that were lower than the year before. We understood what we were doing, but we never cut any services. I believe that’s the most important way to go.  

Do you have an election website and/or Facebook page?

www.HermansenForCouncil.com 
www.facebook.com/pages/Rob-Hermansen 
rob@HermansenForCouncil.com
201-376-4332    

See the profiles of the other three candidates here.