Rumson Final Hour Write-In Council Campaign a First: Tim McCooey

Until very recently, Rumson's GOP candidates for Borough Council, incumbent Joseph Hemphill and newcomer to the race, Laura Atwell, were running for the two seats up for grabs opposed only by Democrats Michael Steinhorn and Philip Wagner, who have run and lost for several years.

Now, in a last-minute move, a write-in campaign under the moniker of Rumson Family has emerged. Its candidates, Tim McCooey and Tom Ridgway, who are registered Republicans boast a non-partisan platform based on a "community-based view."

Patch provided each candidate with a questionnaire. The following are the questions and candidate Tim McCooey's responses. McCooey, 44, lives on Buttonwood Lane East.

Please introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your background and why you should be elected.

I have lived in Rumson since 2002, with my wife, Amy Sorokolit, and our three children who attend Rumson public schools.

My father, brothers and I built a successful independent NYSE franchise, and I currently work in the corporate and investment banking division of Citigroup.

I have been an active parent in the recreation program by coaching soccer (both recreation and travel), and I have assisted with Lacrosse.

I am proud of my service on the board of Lincoln Hall Boys Haven, Lincolndale, NY, which provides community-based treatment and education for boys involved in the court system.

My wife Amy has been active in the town as president of the Rumson Education Foundation and is a catalyst in my decision to run for Borough Council.

I am running as a write-in candidate supported by Rumson Family, a newly formed grass-roots organization that focuses on making our community a better place for families.
 
What do you think distinguishes you from other candidates? What do you bring to the table?

While on the board of Lincoln Hall, I helped manage a $50 million budget and navigated layers of government and courts to help the boys in our care succeed. 

I can bring this type of leadership and collaborative spirit to the borough council, to help Rumson be the best family community it can be.

Although Tom Ridgway and I are registered Republicans, like the incumbents, we take a community-based view, rather than a party view of the issues. The current governing body and the boards it appoints have lost their family focus, and I intend to bring it back.
 
What are the most pressing issues facing Rumson today? How would you approach and resolve these issues?

I believe that there are a number of ordinances that need to be updated in order to prevent our town from getting itself caught in a situation from which it is unable to recover. 

Debris from Sandy still lingers in the West Park section, and we have a lack of safe bicycle lanes on our busy road.

I’ve heard from a number of parents who wonder why our baseball fields are the only ones with out pitchers mounds and fences. When our teams go on the road, we see that every other team is sponsored by local businesses who advertise on shirts and billboards on fences. There are a number of ways, such as a concession stand, to defray the cost of building a better sports and recreation program for our children.

After Hurricane Sandy, it became clear that we need a plan for where we want our town to be in five or 10 years, and this plan needs to be transparent. We need to look into new ideas, like burying our power lines, that might help us weather the next storm a little better.