Former South Orange mayor to serve as Lambertville business administrator

One of the youngest elected mayors in New Jersey history is now Lambertville’s business administrator.

Alex Torpey, 31, formerly the village president of South Orange, N.J., has wrapped up his job as borough administrator of Leonia, N.J., in Bergen County, and is moving to the area to take on the newly created position in Lambertville.

Torpey was elected village president of South Orange in 2011 at age 23, which made him the youngest sitting mayor in the state at the time. During his tenure, he emphasized more technological innovation and transparent governance.

He is a graduate of Hampshire College in Amherst, Mass., and earned his Master’s of Public Administration from John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City.

One reason Torpey was attracted to the city administrator position was because of the opportunity to define it.

“When I came in to Leonia, I was both literally and figuratively handed a giant box of stuff that you have to start doing because somebody else was just doing it,” he said. “Here [in Lambertville] we have this interesting opportunity where a big percent of my job, nobody was doing.”

Torpey said that he hopes to take some work off other city employees’ plates and help redesign the budget process for next year, which will include planning a six-year budget. He cited his experience at Hampshire College, a university with experimenting project work, as opposed to set majors, as an asset to build up the new city position.

Torpey moved from North Jersey to Trenton, and will continue the teaching of master’s students at Seton Hall University in addition to the new job in Lambertville.

He will be introduced to the public at the Thursday, June 6 Governing Body work session at Lambertville City Hall, 18 York Street, at 7 p.m.