The world lost a special person, and New Jersey lost a special friend, when the esteemed Mayor Warren Hagstrom of Wanaque passed away this past November 5^th at the age of 73. He had served  as Mayor of Wanaque since 1991.

I first met Mayor Hagstrom at an NJCM conference in Atlantic City. He and his lovely wife were having breakfast at the annual conference and I asked if I could sit with them. They graciously invited me to join them and introduced themselves.  After talking with the mayor for a while, he said that he would see if he could sponsor my programs in his local schools. It didn’t take long. The following fall he brought me in to each of his borough’s schools.  While there I met a number of people who were eager to speak to me about their mayor. Everyone spoke highly of him. It seemed like everybody was anxious to lavish praise upon their local leader.

Mayor Hagstrom received probably the highest praise that a public official could be given when one resident in the town told me: “I'm not even sure what party he belongs to. I don't know if he's a Democrat or Republican. All I know is that he's a wonderful person and a great mayor. I’d vote for him forever.”  As I met more people in his community, I heard the same type of kind of positive remarks repeated. “He’s a great person.”  “What a wonderful human being.”  “We’re lucky to have him as our mayor.” It also seemed that many of his constituents who voted for him really didn't know what party he belonged to. And it didn’t even matter to them. All they knew was that he was a dedicated public servant whom they admired.

Personally, I will always remember the Mayor as a warm and friendly person who kept his word to me and inspired me to try to do better in my life. But even more importantly, I will remember him as being not just a mayor, but someone who unified the members of his community. He truly was someone who made people forget about partisanship and come together to work as a team for common goals. Certainly we can all learn from his legacy.

The Borough of Wanaque, the New Jersey Conference of Mayors, the State of New Jersey, and the world in general, has lost a special friend. Thank you, Mayor Warren Hagstrom of Wanaque, for all you have done to make this world a better place. I truly do hope that those of us who are still here can learn from the example that you set for us.