City Council Members

Council Members

• Council President Elizabeth Sheehan Garlatti
• Council Vice-President Joe Egan
• Council Member Jimmy Cook
• Council Member Bob Recine
• Council Member Blanquita Valenti

City Council President Elizabeth Sheehan Garlatti

Elizabeth (Betsy) Sheehan Garlatti was born and raised in New Brunswick. Both her father, Daniel M. Sheehan, Sr. and her mother, Patricia Q. Sheehan have served the City as elected officials and she is proud to carry on their tradition of public service. She is married to Louis A. Garlatti, Jr. and they have one son, Peter.

Betsy graduated from Benedictine Academy in 1976. She received her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pennsylvania in 1980 and her Master of Arts from Rutgers University in 1982. She worked for ten years at Rutgers University in the Office of Research & Sponsored Programs. Betsy joined Governor Florio's administration in 1991 and served as Policy Advisor for Higher Education and Science & Technology. In 1994 she was recruited by the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine to start up the Office of Sponsored Programs Services. Betsy served as the Executive Director of the Child Health Institute of New Jersey till October 2006. Besty currently works as the Director; Finance & Research at NJ Commission on Higher Education.

Councilwoman Garlatti was appointed to the City Council to fill an unexpired term in January 2004 and subsequently elected to a full, four-year term.

City Council Vice President Joseph Egan

Joe Egan is a lifelong resident of the City of New Brunswick. He is married to Yolanda and is the father of four and grandfather of seven.

Council Member Egan was first elected to the New Brunswick City Council in 1982. He was subsequently reelected in 1986, 1990, 1994 and 1998. For 9 of these years he served as the City Council President. In 2001 Council Member Egan was elected to serve as one of the 17th Districts representatives to the New Jersey General Assembly.

An activist and leader in the state's labor movement for nearly four decades, Council Member Egan has served in a number of positions including vice president of both the New Jersey State Building Trades and the New Jersey Electrical Workers Association. He also serves as chairman of the New Jersey Electrical Workers Temporary Disability Fund. For 19 years Councilman Egan has been the Business Manager for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 456.

Council Member Egan is a charter member of Keep Middlesex Moving (KMM) and is an active member of St. Peter's Parish in New Brunswick. His dedication to the church earned him the Monsignor James Harding Medal, an award honoring community service.

City Council Member Jimmie L. Cook

Jimmie Cook is a lifelong resident of New Brunswick and a graduate of New Brunswick High School. He has attended Rutgers University.

Council President Cook was elected to a four year term in 1996. He was reelected to the City Council in 2000 and has served as the Council President since January 2003.

Council President Cook is currently employed by the New Brunswick Board of Education.

Recognized often for his service to the Greater New Brunswick community, Council President Cook received the 2000 Community Leader of the Year Award from the Professional Women's Organization and the 2002 Community Service Award from the Ebony Suburbanites.

Council President Cook is also a co-founder of CLAY, the Community League for Active Youth as well as former member of the Board of Trustees for the Civic League of greater New Brunswick.

City Council Member Bob Recine

Bob Recine was appointed to the City Council to fill an unexpired term in 1996 and elected to a full 4-year term later that year. In 2000 Council President Recine was reelected along with running mates Jimmie Cook and Joe Schrum. He has served as the City Council President since 2001.

A lifelong resident of New Brunswick, Council President Recine graduated from both New Brunswick High School and Rutgers University.

In addition to his duties as City Council President, Council President Recine also serves as the President of the New Brunswick Coalition for Excellence, is an advisor to the New Brunswick High School Athletic Hall of Fame, and is a member of the New Brunswick Housing Authority's HOPE VI Community Task Force.

Council President Recine is employed full-time as a Senior Systems Analyst for Middlesex County.

City Council Member Blanquita Valenti

Blanquita Valenti was born and raised in Santurce, Puerto Rico and moved to New Brunswick in 1956. She is married to Carl and is the mother of five and grandmother of 10.

Council Member Valenti attended Rosemont College and later received Masters Degrees in both Secondary Education and Spanish and Latin American Literature from Seton Hall and Rutgers University respectively. In 2001 Council Member Valenti retired from the Woodbridge Board of Education where she taught for 32 years.

In 1971 Council Member Valenti became the first Hispanic appointed to the New Brunswick Board of Education. She is also one of the co-founders of the Puerto Rican Action Board and has served on the organization's Board of Trustees since 1970. She has also served on the Middlesex County College Board of Trustees as well as the New Brunswick Ethics Commission.

Council Member Valenti was appointed to the New Brunswick City Council in 1990 to fill an unexpired term and was subsequently reelected in 1990, 1994, and 1998.