thank you council president uh distinguished uh members of the Das and Council of the mayor uh first of all happy New Year I want to uh welcome everyone Mike can you raise your right hand you solemnly swear sorry um this is a resolution 244 of the township of East Brunswick and Mike I know it's unusual for you to be on this side of the day as having served on that side for about 20 years between your term as Council man council person person and also um Township attorney so we welcome you to the right side and welcome you to retirement um also would like to welcome those members of your firm that came out this evening to uh celebrate your evening and to congratulate me yeah well they've been trying to do that for years I think the entire executive board from here firm is just pretty close right see if we could vote on something um resolution honoring Michael Baker on his retirement as Township attorney whereas Michael Mike Baker received his Bachelor of Science from Lehi University his jurist Doctorate from Brooklyn law school and passed the New Jersey State Bar in 1982 and then began his career with the law firm hogland Longo Moran dun ducas LLP and whereas began his tenure as East Brunswick's Township attorney in January of 1997 and whereas he has been one of the longest serving Township attorneys in the history of the township of East Brunswick serving a total of 18 years and whereas prior to becoming Township attorney Mike had served the township of East Brunswick and the state of New Jersey for many years before and where as Mike served on the Township Recreation and Parks Advisory Board from 1979 to 1982 was elected and served as town as Township council person from 1983 to 1986 and was the youngest serving council member in E Brunswick's history at that time he was the East brunic Democratic organization chairman from 1988 to 1992 and further served as an assemblyman in the New Jersey general assembly in 1991 and whereas Mike served as Township attorney for Brunswick from 1997 to 2008 and then from 2018 to 2023 among such similar service in other municipalities I should mention during that uh brief period from 2008 to 18 he continued to serve as special counsel for the township of East brunck so really he's been serving our community for um 25 to 30 years in that range um um in that capacity throughout his time as Township attorney Mike has provided the governing body with sound legal advice and has successfully guided the township through its most challenging times and whereas during his tenure as a Township council member and as the township attorney Mike oversaw Acquisitions of hundreds of Acres of Farmland within the township for open space preservation and whereas as a former elected official Mike has remain involved in politics and government serving as general Council to the New Jersey Democratic State committee from 2010 to 2013 and as a me as a member on two New Jersey Department of Health advisory boards and whereas Mike is valued as a colleague and a friend to the governing body Administration and the executive staff in East Brunswick and I'll throw me in there too so thank you for that and whereas throughout his Decades of service to the Township he has demonstrated exemplary performance for the township of East Brunswick through his work ethic leadership team spirit accessibility and enthusiasm for his duties and whereas oh now you're not Mike Anymore Michael J baker has retired a partner and a member of the firm's executive management committee at hogland Longo Moran Dunston ducas LLP effective December 31st 2023 and will be retiring as the township attorney for the township of East brunwick and whereas Mike loves the township of East brunwick a community in which he was raised and a community in which he continues to reside and whereas Mike has made an indelible impact to our community and the lives of its residents and whereas Mike looks forward to continuing his Hobbies of farming woodworking politics and travel in his retirement now therefore be it resolved by the mayor and Township Council of the township of East Brunswick that they hereby extend their sincere and grateful appreciation to Michael Baker for his 40 Years of dedication and outstanding service to the township of East Brunswick congratulate him on his well-earned retirement and wish him happiness and good health in the years to [Applause] come [Applause] thank you very people watching on thank you I I think you have to vote on it yeah I was going to say we haven't really voted on it so it's not real yet uh we get a photo shoot on on that onei let's we did you want to vote on the sure let's do that first motion to approve motion Mr councilman second second councilwoman Winston on uh roll councilman Wendell yes councilwoman Winston yes councilwoman ziki yes and council president maoy yes photo you were giv this too congratulations again so as as you very well know from your time serving representing uh East Brunswick in the state legislature um sometimes the uh uh sessions go long so your current legislators are down in Trenton right now and we're able to make this so they ask that I present this to you so this is a a resolution on behalf of um our state uh really listing all of the incredible accomplishments that you have um done from Council and legislature as uh Mr lonsky had said and um you know not to reiterate most of it I mean a lot of it is is U um just you don't have to reiterate any of it I won't but but I want to say I you know since the assemblyman asked me to speak here course for me as someone who's about to finish law school this this sentence in particular really I thought um embodied what you are and and throughout his exemplary career Michael J baker has continuously demonstrated uncommon measure of public spiritedness and in so doing he's provided a model of faithful commitment worthy of emulation and set a standard of personal and professional excellent towards which others might strive and if there's anyone to look look towards uh as an aspiring attorney um to emulate you are definitely uh someone that fits that so with your immense career I think uh um good luck in your retirement for thank you retirement that is appreciate it thank [Applause] you one more Mr Baker and our Township Clerk Miss La will going going to read from the in honor of your outstanding services and dedication to the township the governing body would like to honor you with the plaque as an appreciation for all you have done throughout your tenure in the township of East Brunswick you have made an indelible impact on our community and we are honored to have been Guided by your leadership as you Embark upon your new journey of retirement we hope that you find this journey fulfilling but note that you have left behind a legacy that is worthy to be followed Mike you'll be truly truly [Applause] missed FL my turn thank you your um had some things I thought of of saying uh tonight um first is uh you know I started this when I was 11 years old don't worry I'm not going every year uh handing out literature with my older sister and political campaigns and it just seems like yesterday yesterday not 55 years ago I want to thank all of you I want to thank my partners I want to thank the community who came out to help me celebrate my retirement uh so my my parents moved here in their early 50s uh because East brunic was a place that had a good reputation for schools it was near the turnpike and because it was a diverse Community now back then diversity was different there were Jews Protestants Catholics Irish poles Germans and Italians nothing like the great diversity that we have in our community today but that's always been a strength of our our community I'm very proud of our community for that we have 27 to 30 houses of worship and we've always been able to get along even when we had issues that we disagreed upon we just did it uh respectfully uh my first boss uh when I was in college told me if you want to go into public service take your job seriously but not yourself seriously my second boss when I was a young councilman the mayor here Bill fox said uh whatever you do in public service don't put politics ahead of the public good and I have to say I've tried to live that tried not to take myself too seriously but I will tell you that there is a price uh for public service some of us suffer more than others that is me when I started out uh and I was 50 pounds lighter uh I I do have to say that those those characteristics of not taking yourself seriously but taking your job serious iously and never putting uh the the public interest behind politics are something that the four Mayors I've served with and I think I counted 24 25 council members have all followed so I want to thank all of you and all the previous Mayors and council members and all the township employees I've worked with over the years they are our unsung heroes our police officers here tonight our Emergency Management director somewhere out in the hallway uh they're the folks that make government run and and you all are the folks that make East Brunswick what it is so thank you very much let's take a few uh comments from the day see if anyone has anything prepared Mr aoka our new attorney why don't you start us off Mike I'd like to congratulate you on your retirement at the firm of hu Longo Mor dunon duas Mike you've been a mentor and a dear friend of mine for over 20 years I'm very grateful to have been able to work and learn from you you're one of the best attorneys I've ever met and you're just a good person who truly cares about your family friends and East Brunswick Community aside from resolving legal issues whenever there's a major life issue my family and I will always ask hey what would Mike do and we usually give you a call you're the gold standard in September of 2000 my first day at the firm you brought me here at the East brunswood Council for my first meeting and here we are this evening it's been an amazing ride and I hope to follow in your footsteps but the ride is not over and I look forward to seeing what the ne next chapter brings best wishes and congratulations Mike thank you Anthony and the town's in good hands with you thank you I know we all said some comments on the meeting of the 26th but mayor well there's a an Indian saying that says that um the tree with the most fruit is the one whose branches are bent the lowest and I think that's just a sign of somebody who's extraordinarily humble um but don't make any mistake about the fact that Mike Baker is an extremely intelligent extremely committed public servant who has given Decades of service to the township and we are all the better for it there's a uh saying uh among Jews uh that says that you should strive in life for tiun which is uh translated to leave the world better than the way in which you found it and I think that that is exactly everything that Mike has stood for in his 40 years of service here to the township and we're all indebted to you for it and you serve as an example to all of us who are up here on the deis whether they are here now or um you know you worked with those that whose pictures uh align this wall um but we're all the better for it and it has made us a team and has made us a town that's extraordinarily proud of our heritage proud of where we've come proud of where we are right now and like was mentioned earlier we all don't have to agree uh that that's not practical um but we all need to treat each other with respect we all need to listen to one another and when we do that um we end up all the better for it and and you're a example of exactly what public service is about and on behalf of I know all of us up here and those who are here before us I wish you a very happy and healthy retirement h