Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
When Hopewell Borough Councilman Robert Lewis walked into the meeting room for the final borough council meeting of the year, he expected the agenda would list the usual routine matters that every governing body must handle.
What Lewis did not expect was a resolution, signed by Mayor Paul Anzano and council members, expressing their appreciation for his 12 years of service. The meeting last Thursday marked the last one that he would attend as an elected official. He did not seek re-election.
The resolution noted that during Lewis’ four terms on the council, he served as the town’s volunteer information technology professional as it built new or improved websites. He managed its computer infrastructure and served as a trouble-shooter.
The resolution also praised Lewis for his “devoted service (that) embodies the spirit of every good municipal official, every good leader and every good citizen in our democratic republic, which is to strive every day in every way to be a good neighbor.”
Mayor Anzano teased Lewis after he read the resolution into the public record, joking that he “also [gets] to take your nameplate home.”
Councilman David Mackie told Lewis that he “always appreciated your perspective. We don’t all have the same point of view. You are a thoughtful and honorable person.”
Lewis replied that serving on the borough council represented a shift for him. He became interested in history, and began studying the U.S. Constitution and the New Jersey Constitution.
“One thing I noticed is the difference between negotiations and debate,” Lewis said. “Here, we are more likely to debate and come up with the best solution for the community.”
“[You read] in the media, more about negotiation – giving up something. There is a valuable lesson. You should do more deliberation and less from the perspective of negotiation,” he said.
Lewis, whose term expires Dec. 31, had planned to run for a fifth term, along with Borough Councilman Schuyler “Sky” Morehouse, but opted against it because of the town’s changing demographics.
Registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans by about a 2-1 margin in Hopewell Borough. Lewis, like Morehouse, is a Republican. Since a Democrat had already signed up to run for Borough Council, that candidate was more likely to win one of the two seats, rather than two Republicans, Lewis said.
“It became a matter of which one of us would survive – Sky or me. If I won, Sky would be ‘out.’ I just think Sky has so much more experience and so much to offer that I felt it was more important for him to continue to serve,” Lewis said.
Reflecting on his tenure on Borough Council after the meeting, Lewis said “it seems like yesterday” that he took his seat on the dais. The 12 years went by “real fast,” he said. At times, serving on Borough Council was hard work, but it was only as hard as one wanted to make it, he said.
Asked about his proudest achievement while on Borough Council, Lewis was quick to respond that it was the improvements to the playground at Hopewell Park – down the street from the U.S. Post Office on S. Greenwood Avenue – and the Hopewell minipark next to the former Hopewell Borough train station.
“I will miss serving on borough council [but] I will continue to be involved. I will work with the Hopewell Recreation Committee. I have a lot of pride in Hopewell Borough. Its a great place to live,” Lewis said.
