Rex, Quinn bid adieu

Two Middlesex Borough Councilmen concluded a combined decade of service to the community on Tuesday, Dec. 17 as colleagues bid them farewell at their final scheduled public meeting.

Doug Rex and Martin Quinn officially end their respective council terms on Dec. 31. Neither ran for re-election in 2024. Both are Republicans and will be succeeded by Kenneth Griggs Jr. and Joseph DeScenza who ran unopposed for council in the November general election. 

Griggs and DeScenza are both Republicans as well. When they are sworn in at the January reorganization meeting, the GOP will continue to hold all six council seats as well as the mayoralty.

While Rex and Quinn are concluding their council service at the same time, they joined the governing body 22 months apart, under distinctly different political circumstances.

Rex was first elected in 2018, during the administration of Democratic Mayor Ron DiMura. The swearing in of Rex and running mate Jason Carr the following January, broke Democratic control of the council, flipping it to 4-2 in the GOP’s favor.

The reversal was significant in that it took away certain appointment powers from DiMura. In November 2019, DiMura was defeated by Republican John Madden in the general election and indicted the following month on charges of misuse of campaign funds. Rex won his second, three-year council term in 2021.

The victory of Rex and Carr in 2018 signaled a turning point in Middlesex politics. Incumbent Republicans Jack Mikolajczyk, who is now mayor, and Madden had been re-elected to council seats the prior year in 2017. The GOP has not lost a council or mayoral election since. GOP candidates ran without Democratic opposition in 2023 and 2024.

Quinn was appointed to the council in November 2020, to replace Carr after he moved out of the community. Quinn won a full three-year term the following year running alongside Rex.

Rex and Quinn received citations in appreciation of their service, and colleagues wished both of them well during their final public meeting,

Rex recalled that his initial council meetings in 2019 were “challenging” due to financial issues that confronted the governing body. He noted he’s worked to restore the borough’s surplus, increase police department manpower and helped select a firm that is working on a Victor Crowell Park improvements.

Rex concluded that he was “humbled” that constituents had “elected me to be their voice.”

Quinn thanked his colleagues, family and municipal staff for their support during his council tenure. “Most importantly, I’d like to thank the voters of Middlesex for putting their trust in me,” he said. ” I sincerely hope in the future you will consider voting for me again.”

“We have two guys who have been really good councilmen for the time that they’ve been here,” said Mikolajczyk. “There’s a lot of work that goes into doing what we do.”

Mikolajczyk said it is Important for public to realize how selfless council members are.

Rex has had “some difficulties with health issues” but “never wanted to give up the ship and stuck it out until the end,” Mikolajczyk said.

Mikolajczyk concluded by noting that Griggs and DeScenza “have big shoes to fill,” Rex and Quinn, the mayor added, “are top-notch kind of guys”

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