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ROBBINSVILLE: Councilman Levesque says he’s resigning

Relocating to be closer to family

By Joanne Degnan, Managing Editor
   ROBBINSVILLE — Councilman Rich Levesque said Sunday he intends to announce his resignation at  theTownship Council meeting tonight (July 26) because he is moving to the Hopewell area with his family in August.
   Mr. Levesque, who is also the Mercer County Republican Party chairman as well as the Robbinsville GOP municipal chairman, said his resignation from the Township Council would take effect Friday.
   ”My family and I have made the decision to relocate to the Hopewell area so we can be closer to some of our relatives,” said Mr. Levesque, who has a 3-year-old stepson and is expecting a baby with his wife, Ashley Kerr, in September. Ms. Kerr’s parents own Kerr Ridge Farm in Hopewell Township.
   ”We have come to a decision that we feel is in the best interest of our children,” Mr. Levesque said.
   Mr. Levesque has been a Robbinsville councilman since September 2008 when he was appointed to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of then-Councilman Tim McGough. He successfully ran in the November 2008 general election to serve the remainder of that unexpired term and was re-elected in 2011.
   The impending move to the Hopewell area requires Mr. Levesque to step down as a councilman and as chairman of the township Republican Municipal Committee, but it does not affect his position as head of the Mercer GOP because he will still live in the county. Mr. Levesque was elected county chair in June.
   Mr. Levesque said he is leaving Robbinsville a bit sooner than he expected because his home on Garden Place in Town Center sold after being on the market for only 12 days. The closing on his Robbinsville home is in August, he said.
   The Township Council will have 30 days to appoint a temporary replacement to serve until the next election. If the four remaining council members are deadlocked over possible candidates, Mayor Dave Fried casts the tie-breaking vote.
   The interim replacement chosen by the council will have the opportunity to run this November against any other township residents seeking to serve the remainder of Mr. Levesque’s term, which expires Dec. 31, 2015. Residents who have lived in the township for at least a year and are registered to vote are eligible to run for office.
   Mr. Levesque’s resignation from council will also leave an open seat on the Township Planning Board, where he served as the council’s voting member.
   Councilwoman Chris Ciaccio, the vice chair of the Robbinsville Republican Municipal Committee, will take over as head of the local GOP organization, he said.
   As a councilman, Mr. Levesque organized and secured funding in 2009 for the Municipal Alliance against Alcoholism and Drug Abuse and more recently has pushed for greater transparency in municipal spending by seeking competitive bidding on all public contracts. A former council president, Mr. Levesque has also been involved in planning and economic development issues in the township.
   Mr. Levesque, the director of political affairs at a Trenton lobbying firm, said he is remaining actively involved in politics in his role of Republican county chairman and is working to recruit strong candidates to run in local elections.
   Asked if he’d personally consider another run for public office in the future after he has put down roots in a new community, Mr. Levesque was noncommittal.
   ”I’m not closing the door on anything, but right now my focus is on raising my family,” he said.