Wyckoff Mayor Kevin Rooney Picked To Fill 40th Legislative District Seat, Reports Say

WYCKOFF, N.J. — North Jersey Republicans selected Mayor Kevin Rooney to complete former Assemblyman Scott Rumana's term representing the 40th Legislative District.

Republican committee voters approved Rooney's appointment 104-96 over Mike Marotta, NorthJersey.com reported. Rooney was appointed over Wayne Republican municipal leader Mike Marotta, who had received endorsements from three North Jersey county GOP leaders.

Bergen County Freeholder Maura DeNicola was the other person up for consideration for the seat, Observer.com reported.

Before he was appointed to the seat, Rooney said that he was looking forward to "having the responsibility and honor to represent the over 200,000 residents in Legislative District 40 in the NJ Assembly bringing my energy, ability to deliver results, find common ground to attain progressive results and desire to make a positive difference for those constituents I serve."

Rooney is a lifelong Bergen County resident. He grew up in Upper Saddle River and is a graduate of Ramapo College in Mahwah. He was first elected to the Wyckoff Township Committee in 2009 and previously served as mayor in 2011 and 2015. He is a partner in his mother-in-law’s business, HMS Global Holdings, LLC, a real estate development and management company. He and his wife, Hayley, own Holland Hills Farm, LLC, an Equestrian center in Mahwah.

Rumana, a longtime assemblyman and former mayor of Wayne, resigned from his Assembly seat after the state Senate confirmed his appointment to a Superior Court judgeship last month. Rooney will serve the remainder of his term, which expires Dec. 31, 2017.

The 40th District, which has a history of being a Republican stronghold, contains portions of Bergen, Passaic, Essex, and Morris counties.

RELATED: Wyckoff Mayor, County Clerk Announce Run For District 40 Legislative Seats

Rooney was mentioned as a possible candidate to succeed O’Toole as far back as January, the same month O’Toole announced he would not run for re-election when his term ends in January 2018. Assemblyman David R. Russo of Ridgewood also said he would not seek reelection.

Christopher DePhillips, a township attorney, along with Rooney, is seeking the Republican nomination for the two state Legislative District 40 Assembly seats on the Republican ticket for next year's election, although Rooney's nomination seems like a sure thing now.

Passaic County Clerk Kristin Corrado is seeking the nomination on the ticket for the district's Senate seat.

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Pictured: Wyckoff Mayor Kevin Rooney — Patch file photo