Union Beach Mayor Paul J. Smith Jr., who led town through Sandy and rebirth, dies at 66

UNION BEACH - This tight-knit community was heartbroken Thursday as its residents mourned the loss of longtime Mayor Paul J. Smith Jr., who died Thursday at the age of 66, Borough Council President Albin J. Wicki said.

“He loved and everybody loved Paul back, that was just the kind of guy he was,” Wicki said. “He was everybody’s friend. It didn’t matter your political association. Paul — the mayor — Paul was there for you, he didn’t care whether you were an R or a D (Republican or Democrat). That’s his legacy.”

Smith was first elected mayor in November 2007 after serving for 24 years on the Borough Council. A Republican, he ran unopposed to succeed then-Mayor Richard Ellison, who had chosen not to seek another term.

During his tenure as the borough’s chief executive, Smith’s greatest challenge was rebuilding after the devastation of superstorm Sandy on Oct. 29, 2012, two days after his 59th birthday. In a 2013 interview with NPR’s radio magazine program “Here and Now,” for the one-year anniversary of the storm, Smith recalled the rising waters of the Raritan Bay.

“We had our school — grammar school is our shelter, and we’ve never had a problem. In Sandy, the school had 2 feet of water. We had to evacuate the shelter,” Smith explained to host Jeremy Hobson.

“Our police headquarters, which is — we’re on the borderline of Hazlet, and that’s where our police headquarters is, all the cars that were in the parking lot were flooded,” he told a national audience of listeners. “And the firehouse had 4 feet of water in it and never had water before.”

As a new Union Beach rose from the ruins, Smith received a visit from a former American president. Jimmy Carter, who had come to town with Habitat For Humanity to rebuild 13 homes in one weekend in October 2013.

“America has a way of producing citizens who can repair any kind of damage and overcome any kind of obstacle, or answer any kind of difficult question,” Carter told the Asbury Park Press as he stood in the wreckage of one borough neighborhood. “My goal … is to work side by side with volunteers. I’m sure half of them are Democrats, half of them are Republicans. I don’t care.”

Neither did Smith, who presented Carter with a key to the borough.

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Smith was also appointed to President Barack Obama’s Sandy Task Force and noted that he had attended every meeting.

“Sad, as we receive the news of so many passing away in our communities,  Union Beach lost a gentle giant as Mayor Paul Smith passed away,” wrote Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden on Twitter Thursday night.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the Union Beach community, the Smith family and friends. God bless the mayor,” tweeted Golden, who is also chairman of the Monmouth County Republican Party.

Wicki said the mayor had been struggling with health issues and that his death was not related to the COVID-19 pandemic that had taken the lives of 7,228 New Jerseyans, including 460 new deaths on Thursday.

Born on Oct. 27, 1953, Smith had lived in Union Beach since he was at least three-years-old. He is survived by his wife Sharon, two stepdaughters and one granddaughter.

Smith was first elected to the Borough Council as an independent candidate in 1982, but became a Republican after he lost his re-election bid in 1985 and ran successfully again in 1986 on the GOP ticket with Ellison.

During his life, Smith was employed as a shipper for International Flavors and Fragrances in his hometown and volunteered for 30 years as a coach and commissioner for the Union Beach-Keyport Baseball Little League. He was also co-founder of the local basketball recreation program and the local Girls’ Softball League. 

Erik Larsen: 732-682-9359 or elarsen@gannettnj.com