Hermansen Retakes Seat on Township Council

After nearly six months of operating with six members, the township council added a seventh at its meeting Thursday night.

Former Mahwah Councilman Rob Hermansen retook a seat on the township’s governing body after getting sworn into the seat Thursday.

Hermansen won a close election in November to fill a one-year unexpired term left vacant by the June retirement of longtime Councilman John Spiech. After some debate, the council decided over the summer not to appoint anyone to the vacant seat, saying they’d prefer to wait for the election to decide who would join the council.

The politician, who also previously served as a Bergen County Freeholder, said Thursday his return to public life is “natural.”

“It feels great,” he told Patch of rejoining the council. “It really feels like I’m home.”

Hermansen inserted opinions and asked questions on several issues the council tackled Thursday night, including its insurance policy and the condition of local roadways.

“I’ve done this before, so I can really hit the ground running,” he said. “I ran on a campaign of experience, and it’s true. There aren’t many issues coming up that I haven’t dealt with before.”

Hermansen served on the council from 2006 to 2009, when he was elected freeholder. He lost a bid for reelection to the freeholder board last year. Not long after an unsuccessful bid to become the Republican candidate for a seat on the state assembly earlier this year, Hermansen announced he would be running to fill Spiech’s seat on the township council.

The seat will be up for election again next November.