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Mayor Edward Zimmerman has been serving his initial term for three years as Rocky Hill's first Jewish mayor, elected in this small community bordering Princeton and Montgomery in Somerset County. His desire for some "young blood" in Rocky Hill politics drove Zimmerman to run for mayor.

Zimmerman was born in the Bronx and was raised in Livingston, where he met and married his high school sweetheart. They moved to Rocky Hill in 1995 and since 2000 he has owned and operated a consulting/recruiting firm called Jobreq.com. Ten years ago Zimmerman was diagnosed with cancer. Neighbors he barely knew aided him in his recovery by helping him on daily walks so he could maintain his stamina, brought food into the home, and offered to help in any other way that was needed. Zimmerman said that he was amazed at the "phenomenal town" into which he moved.

After his chemotherapy concluded, Zimmerman desired to give something back to the community who helped and supported him during such a difficult time, and he then spent three years serving on the Rocky Hill Borough Council. Some members of the council asked Zimmerman to run for mayor and he was subsequently elected on an independent ticket. His term will end on Dec. 31, 2010, and it was Zimmerman's intention when he first ran for office to serve only one term, but he is unsure at this time if that is still the case.

Zimmerman's biggest challenge during his term has been trying to end the "nastiness of the politics in Rocky Hill" and "the Wal-Mart politics" in this community, he said. Zimmerman said that Gov. Jon Corzine would like communities like Rocky Hill "to disappear" since there are less than 5,000 residents, and more specifically, wants this small town to merge into the much larger Montgomery. Zimmerman said he would strongly consider running for a second term if Rocky Hill would still be "under siege" from the state in this matter and added that this "will not happen on my watch."

Zimmerman said the small-town culture of Rocky Hill would be lost if merged into a large township such as Montgomery. He said aid to Rocky Hill could be cut because taxes are low, adding that "Rocky Hill is being penalized for being a 100 percent volunteer community." He emphasized that he "does not want to go away in the middle of a fight."

Zimmerman hasn't experienced much anti-Semitism as mayor, and said he's been welcomed as Rocky Hill's first Jewish mayor as if he was anyone else in this small community consisting of no more than 700 people with roughly a 5 percent Jewish population -- 30 people at best.

Zimmerman spends 35-40 hours per week on mayoral duties and works with 12 part-time employees. Everyone helps out when needed, such as painting the borough offices recently. Zimmerman has been known to help out in the kitchen when one of the Rocky Hill churches holds their traditional ham dinners for its congregants. Since there is no official police force, Zimmerman has created a N.J. State Police substation in Borough Hall since the State Police as well as the South Bound Brook Police, who work 50 random hours each month in Rocky Hill, are the official police presence for this rural town.

Zimmerman has married 11 couples during the past two years and he admits that this is the most fun part of his mayoral duties. He said that any decision he makes is bound to anger someone in such a small community, and usually "it's your next door neighbor." He lives in Rocky Hill with his wife of 27 years, Randie, and has three children.