Rumson families fired up over write in campaign

Rumson’s Ridgway and McCooey  Ride Wave of Support

Write-in Candidates Challenge Status Quo

A year after the floods of Sandy have receded, a new surge is rolling through Rumson. The excitement and support for Rumson Family write-in candidates for borough council, Tom Ridgway and Tim McCooey, can only be described as a wave sweeping through our town, block by block.

Ridgway and McCooey, Rumson dads, coaches and community volunteers, stepped up to challenge “the lack of compassion and family-focus on the current borough council, and all the boards whose members they appoint.”

Galvanized by the council’s lack of response to residents’ concerns about a suspicious death at a new addiction recovery house in the West Park section, a group of Rumson families united in their desire to make a change.

Born just two weeks ago, “Rumson Family” quickly organized a grassroots write-in campaign. Volunteer boots-on-the-ground have been feverishly folding flyers and spreading the word while trick-or-treating and cheering for flag football teams.

“It’s as if the council is out of touch with today’s Rumson family,” Ridgway explained. “I appreciate their service but their best years may be behind them.”

And, if Wednesday’s impromptu meet-the-candidates night at Molly Maguire’s is any indication, many residents agree with them. With little more than a day’s notice, about 125 residents crowded the side room and bottle-necked into the doorway, just to hear them speak.

Focusing on Families

But Rumson Family is much more than a reaction to one situation, Ridgway and McCooey are quick to point out. Other issues include seemingly arbitrary and capricious decisions by the building department. Some families seem to have no problem getting COs (certificates of occupancy), while others can be held up by something as minor as a question on the back yard grading. “We know one family that was stonewalled for 18 months and paid $6,000 in fees and experts just to create a safe play area in their back yard.”

McCooey points to lingering debris from Sandy in the West Parksection, and the lack of safe bicycle lanes. “We need to review our ordinances, and learn from the successes and failures of other towns, to ensure we don’t get our town caught in a situation we cannot recover from,” McCooey explained.

“I’ve heard from a number of parents who wonder why our baseball fields are the only ones with out pitchers mounds and fences,” said McCooey. “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,” added McCooey.

“When a council member shuts down our Boy Scouts from selling popcorn on a River Road sidewalk, you can tell there is something wrong,” said Ridgway. “We need to be able to look under the hood and bring families back into focus.”

Community Line – Not Party Line

While both Ridgway and McCooey are registered Republicans, they stress that Rumson Family takes a “community line, not a party line.”

“There is really no way to matriculate in our town’s Republican Club,” Ridgway observed. “They have no meetings, no minutes, no elected officials. It’s an ‘old boys’ club that you have to be invited to.”

          The roll-out of the Ridgway and McCooey write-in campaign is just the first step for Rumson Family. The group plans to be a vehicle for new volunteers to get involved and find a way to serve the Rumson community, and to continue putting forth local candidates for the Borough Council and the all the boards it appoints – Planning, Zoning, Finance, Parks and Recreation, etc.

Qualified Candidates

Ridgway, 41, lives on Black Point Road with his wife, Dawn and two children who attend Deane Porter Elementary School. A community organizer, youth sports coach and member of the Rumson Endowment Fund, he led recent fights to prevent the proposed multi-family COAH house on Bingham Road, and disputed a lot variance on Ridge Road which would have increased traffic and parking in a densely populated area.  He is an insurance broker with Willis in New York City.

McCooey, 44, lives on Buttonwood Lane with his wife, Amy Sorokolit, and their three children who attend Rumson public schools. A youth sports coach, he has also served on the board of Lincoln Hall Boys Haven, Lincolndale, NY, which provides community-based treatment and education for boys involved in the court system. “We managed a $50 million budget and navigated layers of government and courts to help the boys in our care succeed,” McCooey remarked. “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.”

McCooey, along with his father and brothers, built a successful independent NYSE franchise. He currently works in the corporate and investment banking division of Citigroup.

Spelling Counts

Rumson voters who would like to see families become a priority for Rumson government and its various boards, are urged to write in Tom Ridgway and Tim McCooey for borough council on November 5.Voters need not bring a pen – voting booths are equipped with keyboards. But, Ridgway and McCooey want to remind Rumson residents that spelling does count. Historically, misspelled write-in votes have been challenged or disqualified.

To be safe, type “Tom Ridgway” and “Tim McCooey” into your phone so you can access it when you cast your vote.

          More information about the candidates and Rumson Family is atrumsonfamily.org.

###