Hoff will be missed Joe Hoff once said, "I can be a team player, but if the team is going the wrong way, I’m going to make waves." He often did just that during a half century as a public servant. Hoff worked for his community from almost the time he moved to what is now Old Bridge Township in 1954 up until his death last weekend. First on the Board of Education and later on the Township Council, Hoff helped shape and guide the community with his own unique ideas and vision. Hoff was known to generations of local politicians as someone who through his old-fashioned nature and undying fight to protect his vision for Old Bridge, commanded respect from all corners of the political arena. He never lost his desire to serve, even as his health faltered. Though he was a staunch Democrat, Hoff fought for what he believed in, regardless of political affiliation. In essence, what he believed in was maintaining the quality of life as he knew it in Old Bridge. "I like Old Bridge the way it is now," he told the Suburban last year. That statement stemmed from his wish that new housing be curtailed, and from his frequent opposition to many of the proposals that would come to the table which he saw as unnecessary changes. Just look at his recent history. As his associates moved forward in recent years with the purchase of a 200-acre tract known as Cedar Ridge II, off Morganville Road, Hoff was the lone dissenting voice on the council. He fought it from the outset, saying they shouldn’t spend local, county and state money buying property he felt would only benefit homeowners living in the immediate vicinity. Hoff also held the minority view on the proposed construction of a municipal golf course at two Lambertson Road farms. He preferred that a developer build the course, perhaps in lieu of houses. The course, he felt, "will only benefit people who play golf." Hoff also had other sore spots — he opposed a controversial ordinance requiring that merchants found guilty of selling cigarettes to minors post a window sign confessing that offense; and he was against a proposal to close bars earlier in an effort to prevent late-night criminal activity. He wanted to protect the local business owner. Agree with him or not, Hoff will be recalled as a leader who held strongly to his beliefs. Whether it was molding plans for the township’s first high school, going to extremes to arrange for dividers along the center of Route 35, or encouraging waterfront improvements in Laurence Harbor, Hoff made his mark. As Hoff said himself, he did make waves, against the grain or not, in serving his community right up until his death. His colleagues and his community will surely miss his insight, his wit and his strength.