Last week I was able to sit down and talk to Hasbrouck Heights Mayor Rose Heck.  Rose is an extremely intelligent and intense person, not to mention a real firebrand when it comes to causes near and dear to her heart.  She defies any and all stereotypes one may have about 76 year old grandmothers as she continues to be a mover and shaker in Bergen politics.  

What is your career background?

I was the editor, publisher, and advertising director of two weekly newspapers, the Observer and the Lodi Weekly News. 

What is your “claim to fame?”

I have been very active in preventing child abuse and neglect.  I worked to put together the regional diagnostic and treatment centers together; there are four of them including the Audrey Hepburn Children’s house at Hackensack University Medical Center. I was chair of the light rail panel in the assembly.  I would like to see the whole state of New Jersey have access to light rail and beyond to go into other states.  Those were my two dreams in the assembly, and I revamped domestic violence and sexual assault laws.

What was your best day in politics?

When I was sworn into the Assembly and I met Joe Doria for the first time. 

What was your worst day in politics?

Losing the District 38 Senate race in 2003.

What is your immediate political goal?

To bring honor and integrity to the council.

What is your secret for success?

Hard work and energy.  Another key to my success has been that people are attracted to work with me as volunteers.  I depend on volunteers to help get the job done, because one person can’t do it alone.  They are people with the same desire and the same passion to see everything get better.  I’ve been very blessed, I’m a good administrator and a good strategist and I kind of can see, I have vision and I go towards that, and I do it.  You’re not going to stop me if I have my mind set on it.  I’m very pleased, I have been very well received by the public and that is why I came back as mayor

Prediction for 2008?

Joe Pennacchio will get the nod to run against Frank Lautenberg in the fall.

Who are your heroes?

Teddy Roosevelt, Harry Truman, and Abraham Lincoln.

What are your favorite movies?

The Wizard of Oz, Miracle on 34th St.

What are your favorite books?

New Earth, The Power of Positive Thinking.

What was your best moment on the campaign trail?

Going door to door.               

What was your worst moment on the campaign trail?

Having to tell my campaign staff that we lost in 2003 after a grueling, nasty, campaign against Joe Coniglio.   

How did you first get involved in politics? 

I was always involved in town politics, I was involved in every campaign on the campaign committee and at one point a woman said to the then-sitting mayor [William H. Imken] “When are we going to have a woman on the council?” to which he replied “, as long as I am mayor, there will be no women on the council.”  As soon as he said that I became the candidate for the women and when I became the first councilwomen in the 90-year history of the town he was wonderful to me.  He gave me a lot of responsibilities, and it was a learning curve for him.  After I had been on the council for two and a half years he said he wanted to step down as mayor and he recommended that I become the next mayoral candidate.  He said, and I was amazed, “There is no one here more qualified to be mayor than Rose.” 

Mayor, after loosing the 2003 District 38 state senate race to Joe Coniglio, what made you come back to politics and run for mayor again in Hasbrouck Heights?

I never decided to get into politics; it was never a dream of mine.  When you reach an impasse and you want to get something done and there is no other way to go, you have to be the decision maker.  Many people talk but are afraid to make the decision; I am never afraid to make the decision. I’d rather make a decision than see things crumble around me.  When I saw my town being bashed by a political party that wanted to take over it hurt me deeply, because I knew the history of our town, I knew many of the people that served here not only in the governing body, but the volunteers who made our town, people who gave their blood, sweat and tears to this town.  I had people come up to me and say, “I thought Hasbrouck Heights was a nice town.” Do you know how horrible that was for me?  I saw a group whose main objective was to be negative and get their names in the paper, not to come up with an idea or to make something better.  If things are bad do you have a solution? Are you working towards making things better? Pointing a finger is the only thing those people knew how to do.  That is why I came back.   

Why are you a Republican?

The nuns at Our Lady of Grace Grammar School in the third grade had me read “The Life of Abraham Lincoln”, and when I read the biography I said, “When I grow up I’m going to be a Republican.”

Where do you see your party in 10 years?

I think the pendulum will once again swing our way and Bergen will become a Republican county once again.