EAST BRUNSWICK – Dr. Aleck Borman, the first mayor of East Brunswick who was elected by popular vote, died at the age of 96 at his home in Warren on July 4.
In 1964, East Brunswick changed its government structure so that residents would elect the mayor rather than having one appointed by the Township Committee from within its own ranks, according to information provided by Dr. Borman’s daughter, Judy Borman. That same year, Borman was both appointed to an empty seat on the Township Committee by a Middlesex County judge and then elected mayor, making him the first mayor of East Brunswick to be elected to the office.
Serving as mayor from 1965-68, Borman instituted reforms to municipal departments; facilitated the expansion of industrial, commercial and residential growth; secured federal grants to construct parks; improved infrastructure by paving roads and modernizing sewers; as well as beginning construction on the East Brunswick Administration Building to provide a home for the township’s offices and public library, his daughter said.
Prior to Borman’s time as mayor, he helped form the Citizens’ Committee for Better Schools that campaigned to build a high school in East Brunswick. Most East Brunswick students attended South River High School at the time, Judy Borman said.
Beginning in 1954, Borman served on the East Brunswick Board of Education for 10 years, including two years as its president, where he recruited staff to the school district and oversaw the construction of 10 new schools, according to his daughter.
Borman graduated with a B.S. degree in chemistry from the University of Toledo in 1941 and earned a Ph.D. degree in chemistry from the University of Illinois in 1945, after which he moved to New Jersey and worked as a senior research scientist at E.R. Squibb & Sons, now Bristol-Meyers Squibb.
As a researcher, Borman published 50 articles in scientific journals and secured three patents. He eventually became Squibb’s labor relations manager, a position he held until his retirement in 1986, according to his obituary.
Borman married Roberta Axelrod in 1946. After 70 years of marriage, she predeceased him on June 17.
All East Brunswick Township government offices lowered flags to half staff on July 7 in honor of Borman’s passing, according to a statement released by the East Brunswick Police Department.