Hillsborough Township General Election 2026: Rob Movshin

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — Hillsborough Township's general election on Nov. 4 has four candidates running for two open seats on the Township Committee.

Rob Movshin is one of two Republican candidates running in the primary. Current Mayor Catherine Payne is the other Republican candidate running.

Additionally, there are two Democratic candidates: current Committeewoman Samantha Hand and newcomer Meghann Valeo.

All of the candidates are running for the two, three-year seats on the township committee.

Are you running for office in Hillsborough? Contact Alexis Tarrazi at alexis.tarrazi@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate's profile and submitting campaign announcements to Hillsborough Patch.

Rob Movshin

Age: 52

Town of residence: Hillsborough Township, New Jersey

Position sought: Hillsborough Township Committee

Party affiliation: Republican. I am running alongside Mayor Catherine Payne as the two Republican nominees for Township Committee in the November 2026 general election.

Family: My wife, Diane, and I raised our three sons, Noah, Adam and Brody, here in Hillsborough. Hillsborough has been much more than an address for our family. Our children grew up here, I coached here, volunteered here and have been part of this community for more than two decades. My family also experienced firsthand what kind of community Hillsborough is when I returned from my deployment to Kosovo in 2020 and hundreds of neighbors and first responders welcomed me home as well as my 2012 return from Afghanistan where the entire neighborhood helped me cut the yellow ribbons from the neighborhood trees.

Education: Rutgers University. I attended Rutgers graduating in 1997 with B.A's in Political Science and History while also commissioning as an Armor Officer in the Army through the ROTC program. I returned to Rutgers Business School to pursue a Masters of Science in Supply Chain Logistics. I am also a graduate of the United States Army Logistics University, The Army Command and General Staff College, as well as The Department of Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute.

Occupation: DHL Global Forwarding Head of Intermodal Development. I have spent approximately three decades in transportation, logistics and supply-chain operations, including senior leadership positions involving ports, trucking, warehousing and intermodal transportation.

Previous or current elected appointed office: I currently serve as Vice Chairman of the Hillsborough Township Board of Adjustment. I have not previously held elected office. My public and community service has also included extensive involvement in Hillsborough youth sports and our schools.

Campaign website: www.HillsboroughNJGOP.org

Why are you seeking election to the Hillsborough Township Committee?

Service has been a constant throughout my adult life. I spent approximately 30 years serving our country in the Army and New Jersey Army National Guard, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. I had combat deployments to Afghanistan and Kosovo as well as multiple domestic responses such as floods, hurricanes, and Covid response. I have led soldiers and worked in environments where accountability was not a slogan. You were responsible for the mission and for the people entrusted to you. My civilian career in logistics has operated on the same principle: understand the problem, develop a plan, execute it and be accountable for the result. My military service, including deployments to Afghanistan and Kosovo, is documented publicly.

I want to bring that approach to the Township Committee. Hillsborough is where Diane and I raised our family. I have coached our kids, volunteered in our schools and youth programs, and now serve on the Board of Adjustment. I am running because I want Hillsborough to remain safe, affordable and family-oriented while we responsibly manage the growth and challenges ahead.

Transparency in government has been discussed at recent Township Committee meetings. Do you feel the Township Committee is transparent, and how would you increase transparency?

Transparency means more than complying with the law. It means making information understandable and accessible before residents have to go searching for it. Hillsborough and the Township Committee is already recognized as an award-winning township for transparency.

Hillsborough already posts agendas, minutes, ordinances and application materials online, streams Township Committee meetings and provides public access to meetings. I would build on that foundation by communicating complicated issues in plain English, particularly budgets, development applications, major capital expenditures and long-term projects.

That is also the idea behind Straight Talk. I would rather explain a difficult issue directly, including what government can and cannot do, than hide behind talking points. Residents do not have to agree with every decision, but they should be able to understand how and why that decision was made.

With rising healthcare costs and inflation, how do you propose keeping tax increases to a minimum?

The starting point is recognizing that residents are experiencing the same inflationary pressures as government. Every additional dollar government spends ultimately has to come from somewhere. I will work with Hillsborough's Legislative assembly representatives and those who should be advocating in Trenton on behalf of our residents to encourage and support efforts to lower the tax burden and bring our hard-earned tax dollars back to Hillsborough.

My professional career has been built around operations, logistics and efficiency. I would bring that same discipline to municipal government: examine costs line by line, measure results, pursue shared services where they make financial sense, compete contracts aggressively, seek county, state and federal grants and avoid creating permanent overhead when partnerships or existing resources can accomplish the same objective.

That does not mean pretending costs do not increase. Hillsborough’s 2026 municipal tax levy increased 8.3 percent, for example, so fiscal responsibility requires acknowledging increases as well as explaining what drove them.

The goal should be measurable value for every taxpayer dollar while protecting core services such as police, roads and infrastructure.

Looking at the necessity to meet the state’s affordable-housing obligation while also avoiding overdevelopment, do you feel the Township Committee has been balancing this well? How would you approach it?

This is an issue where my experience on the Board of Adjustment matters. This experience has shown me that development applications need thorough debate by Township officials as well as consideration of public input and comment from residents.

Municipalities have legal obligations under New Jersey’s affordable-housing framework. The Township cannot simply ignore those obligations, which for this fourth round is 565 affordable units. At the same time, complying with state law does not mean abandoning responsible planning.

I believe every development decision should be examined for its impact on roads, traffic, schools, public safety, infrastructure, open space and surrounding neighborhoods. We need to use every lawful planning tool available to protect Hillsborough’s character while meeting the requirements imposed on the municipality. For example, Hillsborough demands a higher set-aside percentage of 24% than the State's recommended 20%. Hillsborough has also balanced the impact by prioritizing developments that include age-restricted, supportive needs, and veterans preference units, as well as appropriate accommodations for residents. My approach will be to make sure the affordable housing projects and settlement agreements abide by our local ordinances and in accordance with the Master Plan.

Preservation must be part of that strategy as well. The Township’s approximately 430-acre Mindel Tract preservation initiative is expected to generate approximately over $13 million in state preservation funding and permanently remove development rights from property that previously faced proposals involving warehouses, high-density housing and a natural-gas power facility.

What other issues facing Hillsborough are important to you?

Public safety, infrastructure, affordability, responsible development and quality of life are all interconnected.

Roads are a good example. Hillsborough has approximately 250 miles of Township roadway, and the Township approved a $9 million, five-year road improvement program based on an engineering condition-ranking system rather than political selection. The 2026 paving program is already underway on Strawberry Lane, Chamberlain Drive, Van Fleet Court, Harman Court and Herder Drive.

I also believe we need to plan for changing demographics. Hillsborough now has over 10,000 residents age 60 and older, and the Township has launched its Senior Active Living Initiative to better coordinate existing services and resources for that population.

Government should be thinking five, ten and twenty years ahead, not simply reacting to the next problem.

What is your favorite thing about Hillsborough?

The people.

I learned that long before I ever considered running for office. Before deploying to Afghanistan in 2012, I described Hillsborough as “real Americana” because it was the kind of town where people knew one another and supported their neighbors.

Eight years later, after returning from nine months overseas in Kosovo followed by quarantine during COVID, my family and I experienced that personally. Our neighbors organized a huge welcome-home parade with families, police, firefighters and community members.

That is Hillsborough to me. It is a large town that can still feel like a neighborhood.

Is there anything else you would like residents to know about you or your campaign?

I have spent my adult life leading people and solving problems in environments where results matter. I served our country for approximately three decades, raised my family here, coached Hillsborough’s children, volunteered in our community, built a career managing complex logistics operations and now serve Hillsborough on the Board of Adjustment.

I am not approaching the Township Committee as something I need for my résumé. I am approaching it as another opportunity to serve. I am a town guy that wants to serve that town.

My philosophy is straightforward: Listen to people, understand the facts, build the plan, communicate it clearly, execute it and take responsibility for the result.

That is the leadership approach I have followed in uniform, in business and in my community service, and it is the approach I would bring to the Hillsborough Township Committee.