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The Marlboro Man
03/14/2008 - By Tobi Tesoriero
Jonathan Hornik
Meet Jonathan Hornik - Marlboro’s New Mayor
As part of our political process, Americans have the opportunity to elect their leaders. Every few years citizens in our country go to the polls to voice their opinions through their votes to decide the direction their governments, from local to national, will take. As part of this process, Marlboro Township recently held its local election, and one of the offices up for grabs was the position of mayor. This past November, the town spoke enthusiastically when Marlboro residents cast their ballots and elected, with a 60% margin, a new mayor – Jonathan Hornik. Hornik, a lifelong resident of Marlboro, brings to the mayoral office a dedication and devotion to the town as a big cheerleader both of and for Marlboro. He was educated here, starting in nursery school, then kindergarten, and all the way through to grade 12. Along the way he participated in township athletics and developed deep roots in and an affection for Marlboro. After leaving Marlboro for a few years
to pursue education and career obligations, Hornik said that he and his wife, Daryl (another lifelong resident of Marlboro), chose to return here to raise their family, as they view Marlboro as a uniquely special and wonderful community.
Community service seems to be part of the Hornik family tree. Hornik brings with him a political legacy. Jon Hornik is the second generation to serve as Marlboro’s mayor. His late father, Saul, served as mayor for three terms in the 1980s.
Living in Marlboro had the opportunity to chat with Marlboro’s new mayor, who candidly shares his history with the town, as well as his experiences with the political process, campaigning, and his hopes of moving forward.
LIM: Let’s start with the basics. How old are you?
JH: I will be 38 this March.
LIM: What is your occupation?
JH: I am an attorney. I do real estate transactional work, so I do banking, finance, and real estate.
LIM: What made you choose law as a profession?
JH: I always knew I wanted to be a lawyer. I don’t know actually why at such a young age I decided I wanted to go to law school…maybe it was the influences of the times when I was growing up in the ’80s; but let me assure you, everything I thought a lawyer did when I was growing up is not what they actually do. I think it’s excellent training; it gives you the confidence to work in most any situation and deal with it. The practice is not what you think it would be. I have practiced at some of the biggest firms in Manhattan for 12 years, and now I am the general counsel for a private lending firm in northern New Jersey.
LIM: Given that law is not what you expected, do you enjoy it anyway?
JH: Yes, I am now both a lawyer and a businessman. I think I have the best of both worlds. I get to dabble in the business side of transactions, and I also get to execute on the legal side. It is very rewarding. I think [that] as a business transactional lawyer, the biggest complaint you hear is that lawyers don’t get to actually cut the business deal. They get to document it after it’s done. Someone who is working as general counsel in business…you get to be involved in all aspects, which is a lot more rewarding. I spent a summer with a big law firm in New York and was exposed to transactional law; I knew I really was interested in that part of the law, and then I joined that firm upon graduation.
LIM: So you are happy with how your career turned out?
JH: Yes. My philosophy is that you have to continue to grow. Once you stay where you are at for any extended period of time, if you stagnate in your career you become bored and complacent and then you don’t excel or grow anymore. It is very important to continue to grow and challenge yourself. I’ve given a speech at the high school the past few years, for the business law class. I tell them I try to look at my career at 5-year intervals – you plan, put your head down, work really hard; then pick your head up and ask, “Is this what I really want? Do I want to move somewhere else or do I want to do something different?” Each year I have decided to move and expand. It has been a very rewarding career.
LIM: How long have you been a Marlboro resident?
JH: I was born and raised here. I attended nursery school here. I came up through the school system, the recreation programs; I played soccer and baseball growing up, attended Marlboro Jewish Center [Hebrew school]. My family is a founding family there and I was Bar Mitzvahed there. I got to experience all the great things about Marlboro growing up.
LIM: Is that why you chose to raise your family here as well?
JH: Yes.
LIM: Have you lived anywhere else?
JH: I went to the University of Delaware, so I lived in Delaware while I attended school. I lived in Brooklyn Heights when I attended Brooklyn Law School, and then for 4 years after law school my wife and I lived in Hoboken.
LIM: Did you have any prior community service before becoming mayor?
JH: I have been very involved in the town. I have coached my children in soccer and in baseball.
LIM: How many children do you have?
JH: My wife Daryl and I have three children: a 9-year-old boy, Ethan; a 6-year-old girl, Olivia; and an 11-month-old girl, Sophia. Daryl also grew up in Marlboro. I met her in high school the summer before my junior year and her senior year. We started dating and went straight through. She went to [University of] Maryland; I went to Delaware.
LIM: So back to community involvement…
JH: Besides coaching, I have rejoined the Marlboro Jewish Center. I have sat on several committees there, which include the House Committee, the Controls Committee; whenever anybody needs me to be involved in the town I have made myself available. I have been involved with foundations for Israel, I am an active member of the New York and New Jersey Bar Associations, and I have been involved in local fundraising for many children in need. I am passionate about Marlboro – I believe it is a great town. My focus will always be on my family. As my career progresses and I become involved in organizations, my main focus remains my family.
LIM: Have you held any other elected positions prior to this?
JH: No.
LIM: Was the campaign experience what you expected?
JH: We began our campaign in March. We went knocking on doors. We explained our philosophy, why we were running, what we wanted to change in town. The main issues were stabilization of taxes, the COAH [Council on Affordable Housing] program, and to open up our government. Back in 2005 I joined the Reformed Democratic Party, as it was a new party, untainted by some of the issues in Marlboro’s past, for both parties.
LIM: So you became involved politically before your ran?
JH: Yes, I became involved with the Reformed Democratic Party two years before I ran for mayor. I helped run the first campaign for the Reformed Democratic Party. It was only 6 months old. We ran a very grassroots campaign, and ended up very competitive. Our top candidate lost by only 15 votes. We were outspent 3 to 1. Unfortunately, we did not have a clear message, but, you live and you learn [laughs], and that experience taught us as much as what we did right as what we did wrong. We now knew how to deliver a message for this campaign, and we were successful winning the election with 60% of the vote.
LIM: On a personal level, why did you decide to run?
JH: I believe Marlboro is in need of change, a new direction. I believed that if someone who was born and raised here was unwilling to step up and put himself out there to be an agent for this change, then, really, who should do it? I think this is a great town; this is a great job for me because it’s my passion. It is where I have chosen to raise my children; so for me this is a labor of love. I look forward to what we are going to do here.
LIM: Has campaigning and the whole political process gone as expected? Have there been surprises along the way?
JH: Campaign season was a lot harder than I expected. I would say it was a brutal experience. It was a lot tougher than I had anticipated. I am very pleased with the results. Getting to election night was difficult for me. The campaign turned negative, which seemed like an eternity, and I did not enjoy participating in that type of contest. I would have rather talked about a positive plan for Marlboro throughout and about my mission for Marlboro. Unfortunately, things turned negative on both sides. It is the type of thing that you don’t want to see. For that I apologize, that it reached the level it reached. I am not proud of being a part of that part of the campaign.
LIM: Since you have lived here for so many years you have seen this area undergo tremendous changes. Any observations or thoughts on these changes? Or “then and now” musings?
JH: What’s changed in Marlboro in my eyes? The population growth between when I went away to college in 1988 to today – Marlboro has almost doubled in size. It is a completely different town than the town I grew up in. Although it holds some of the same characteristics, it is different. When I grew up here, it was really a small town. Everyone knew what everybody was doing. Everybody knew when there was the birth of a child, or when somebody lost a parent, and word traveled quickly. When I left for college, we had roughly 25,000 people in town; today we have over 43,000.
LIM: How has that impacted the town? Does it make it different or is it the same, just larger?
JH: There are some changes. I feel a need to see our open spaces preserved…and our farms. When I grew up here, there were farms all over the place. That was what Marlboro was known for. Now there are very few farms left. One of the biggest issues in this campaign was the use of the Stattel Farm on Routes 520 and 79. Marlboro’s character and charm was the farms; that is why people moved here from urban centers. That is why they live here and commute up to 2 hours to get to Manhattan or Philadelphia. We have to preserve that character of this town. We have to address zoning issues to maintain and prevent further loss of Marlboro’s character. That withstanding, Marlboro is great. The people who live here are exceptional: they are smart, there are many professionals, they care about their community, and they care about each other. They worship in their own ways. It is a great community. What we will try to do with this new administration is that we want more people in town to get involved. In terms of major changes in town, we are much more diverse today than when I was growing up; Marlboro’s population is 12% Asian. We hope to get all groups involved in government and we are actively reaching out.
LIM: What, in particular, about the character of Marlboro do you love?
JH: Marlboro has been able to attract young couples and families for the past 30 years. Simply, I guess I would say, this is my home. This is where I was born and raised; this is where I have chosen to raise my family. It is that commitment to this town and this area that I find I have. When you ask what is special about it, it is special to me because this is where I belong.
LIM: Can you use words to describe it?
JH: It is a feeling that you just know is right. I can’t say there is a specific thing for me. When I walk around town, when I am at Recreation, watching my kids play soccer, this is where I feel comfortable. I know every little turn and back road. I know the highest point in Marlboro where you can see the Raritan. I have been exposed to Marlboro so long it is part of who I am. I used to go to the airport and watch the planes. I have [a] strong sense of history here and pride in the town. I think it is a great place. My view of the mayor’s office…my father served as mayor as well…I respect that office. I know that I am borrowing it. When someone gives you something to borrow, [you] treat it well and with respect. I will give it back in good shape. It is very rewarding for me to serve as mayor of this town that I have so much pride in. I am very excited about it.
LIM: So, in broad terms what do you hope to accomplish? What are your general goals?
JH: Well, we have created a transition team with incredibly talented individuals. We came up with a 100-day plan and beyond. It is a detailed plan of what we want to accomplish over the 4 years of my term. Right now there are 48 action items we want to achieve. This is from information we collected during our 8 months of campaigning and came up with specific things to do to improve things. Particularly, we would like to see transparency in government. In the past, politicians would pass things late at night with no one watching. We have Channel 77 available to us. We want to see all council meetings and planning board meetings aired so people can come home from work, watch it, tape it, TiVo® it, and be informed. And if you as a resident have a problem with what is being done, you should call the mayor and the council to share your thoughts; it’s easy to open up the process. We have the TV station already. There are so many things like that that we should be doing. I plan my work and I work my plan, and this is important to me so I want to see it implemented.
LIM: So who else comprises the “we”? Who ran with you?
JH: Frank LaRocca and Randi Marder for council.
LIM: How many members are on the council?
JH: There is a five-member council plus the mayor. The mayor is a separate entity. Randi also grew up in Marlboro and Frank grew up in Manalapan. We are close friends, but we disagree on some issues, but that is okay, as it strengthens the process. We had a good time running. We spent a lot of time together. We walked, we campaigned. Fortunately, I really liked my running mates. They are going to be great council members. The council is now two parties, so hopefully there will be more viewpoints. Council meetings are the first and third Thursday of every month.
LIM: So you attend those meetings?
JH: Yes, and I am a member of the planning board and responsible for overseeing all the committees in town, and I plan on dropping in on everyone [laughs].
LIM: Do you have a sense of how much time performing the job of mayor will take?
JH: Funny you should ask that. The mayor gets paid $4,800 a year as a part-time position, but it is the most full-time, part-time job you are ever going to see. It is not something you can do or take on unless you have a passion for it. It is a labor of love.
Favorite restaurants: Jerry and Harvey's in Marlboro, Mike and Nellie's in Oakhurst, and Brioso's in Marlboro
Favorite musician: Bruce Springsteen
Favorite movie: The Godfather II
Pet peeve: People who don’t give 100%
Three people you would like to dine with: Especially after the election, my father who passed away 2 years ago, JFK, and Bill Clinton
Photo Gallery
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