NEW BRUNSWICK, NJ—Rumor has it that Kevin Egan, a union official with the International Brotherhood of Electric Workers Local 456, will serve as the City Council President in 2015.
Though Egan made repeated references to his becoming President of the five-member City Council in December, both he and the woman he would replace, his running mate Rebecca Escobar, would not confirm this after they were both sworn into a second term on January 2.
“We haven’t even talked about that yet,” said Escobar.
But, John Anderson, a fellow City Councilman who replaced Egan on the powerful New Brunswick Parking Authority Board four years ago, said he expects Egan will “ascend” from his current position as Council Vice President to the presidency.
The City Council will name its new President after taking nominations and a vote of its five members at their annual “re-organization” meeting, scheduled for January 7 at 6:30pm on the top floor of City Hall, 78 Bayard Street.Â
During his time as Vice President, Egan has had to fill in for Escobar at a number of meetings. Â Egan was generally less respectful of and receptive to comments from members of the public.
As a first-term Councilman, he became known for speaking out of turn and raising his voice during the meetings, occasionally getting into verbal fights with members of the public.
In 2014, he championed a change in the way the Council’s meetings are run that severely limited comments and questions from the public.
“This is public comment. Â It’s not a question and answer period,” Egan told the author of this article at a December 30 meeting.
“We don’t have to answer [questions],” he said.
Egan’s father Joseph is also an official with the electrician’s union, as well as an elected New Jersey Assemblyman who served on the New Brunswick City Council for three decades.
Kevin took over for his father in 2010, running on a ticket with Escobar and Mayor James Cahill.
The younger Egan also serves on the state’s powerful Schools Development Authority, where he represents labor interests, as well as on the four-member Middlesex County Tax Board.
According to his biography on the city website, he is a lifelong resident of New Brunswick, where he graduated from St. Peter’s Grammar and High Schools, and Rutgers University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Management and Labor Studies.
According to his official bio, he previously served on the Board of Directors of the State Theatre and is a member of both the New Brunswick Elks Lodge #324, and the New Brunswick Knights of Columbus Council #257.
Charlie is the founder and editor of New Brunswick Today, and the winner of the Awbrey Award for Community-Oriented Local Journalism. He is a proud Rutgers University journalism graduate, a community organizer, and a former independent candidate for mayor of New Brunswick.
