Fifth Ward Roselle Park Councilman Robert Mathieu on Thursday night announced his resignation from the governing body.

“I am not and was not a career politician,” Mathieu – a Democrat – said as someone else groaned “Oh, no.”

“Where I’m going with this?” he asked an apparently baffled virtual audience. “I’m resigning and will only be finishing out this month.”

He explained.

Mathieu said during his first two years as a councilman he was in a position to be a crucial tie-breaking vote on critical issues.

Three Democrats and three Republicans gave him that power.

“I had a big voice in the room,” the councilman admitted. “I used it responsibly. I was not an obstructionist. I did not stop developments. These developments could have been put right back on the agenda. I got through many amendments.”

In the end, the councilman said that because he no longer had a voice in the room, he had made the decision to spend his extra time with his family, friends and his professional career.

A source told Insider that Mathieu always had reservations about development in town. He had a deciding vote. But now they leave him out of everything.

In addition, Roselle Park Mayor Joe Signorello, a Democrat, is running this year for the state senate occupied by retiring state Senator Tom Kean, Jr. in the 21st District, against Assemblyman Jon Bramnick (R-21). Apparently, Signorello did not want to support Matheiu and wanted to support his opponent.

The departing councilman serves as Chairman of the Municipal Services (DPW & Engineering) Committee, acting as liaison to construction and transportation. He is also a member of the Finance and Administration Committee as a liaison to public buildings and facilities. As of 2020, Councilman Mathieu is also serves as the governing body’s liaison to the Roselle Park Board of Education, and is the Class III member of the Municipal Land Use Board.

Councilman Mathieu is currently serving his first term as Fifth Ward Councilman which commenced on January 1, 2019 and ends on December 31, 2021.