Highland Park Fills Council Vacancy

HIGHLAND PARK, NJ – The Borough Council has reappointed Democrat Matthew Brian Hersh (pictured) to continue filling a vacancy on the seven-member governing body, the result of the Oct. 16 death of popular Councilman Jon K. Erickson. Erickson served on the Highland Park Council since 2002 until his death. He was posthumously re-elected last Nov. 8th, because his passing occurred after the deadline to remove his name from the ballot.

The borough’s Democratic Party picked Hersh last Fall to fill Erickson’s seat for the two remaining months of 2016. And, at the Council’s Jan. 3rd reorganization, it unanimously reappointed Hersh to fill Erickson’s vacancy until Dec. 31st.

“It is an honor and privilege to serve my community,” said Hersh, who pledged to uphold Erickson’s “deep commitment to progressive values, to embrace diversity and to ensure equal opportunities for all residents.”

Hersh said he hopes to receive Democratic Party support to run in the Nov. 7th election to finish the two remaining years of Erickson’s term. Hersh would appear on fall ballot with incumbent Democrats Elsie Foster-Dublin and Josh Fine.

Hersh, 39, is media relations specialist with Jaffe Communications Inc., in Newark, providing public relations services for several high-profile New Jersey nonprofit groups, including Habitat for Humanity and the N.J. Clean Communities Council. Hersh chairs the council's Finance Committee and he serves on its Economic Development and Planning Committee and its Health and Human Services Committee.

An outspoken advocate for public school education, Hersh is a trustee for the Highland Park Educational Foundation and a former Housing Authority commissioner. He and his wife, Christine, are the parents of three young children.