Hass sworn in as West Milford’s newest councilman

Rudolf (Rudy) Hass, well-known to many residents, was sworn in as the newest member of the West Milford Township Council at its public meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 7, by Senator Anthony Bucco (LD-25), who was joined by Assemblywoman Aura Dunn (LD-25).

Along with Hass, sworn in for a third consecutive term was Councilman Kevin Goodsir. Both were elected to the Council in last year’s Nov. 4 general election.

“Councilman Hass brings extensive experience and steadfast dedication to West Milford,” said West Milford Mayor Michele Dale. “A proud veteran with a Master’s degree in Business Administration and Commander of the local Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), he has shown strong leadership both in service to our nation and within our community.

Dale described him as a level-headed individual, an independent thinker with a collaborative approach and committed to finding practical solutions for residents.

“Rudy is deeply involved and devoted to West Milford,” she said. “He embodies the qualities we value in public service and will be a true asset to the Council and the residents of our township.”

Hass, 55, and his wife, Silena, arrived in West Milford’s Hewitt community after his retirement from military service in 2012; he was born and raised in Lodi. Together, they raised three children and have three grandchildren. Hass is a first-generation American and son to immigrant parents from Ecuador.

“I would love to say that I am going to jump in and start doing this and that, but the reality is that I need to learn how everything works,” Hass said. “It is like a new lieutenant coming into a platoon straight out of college or Officer Candidate School. You can’t come in and start kicking over garbage cans. You have to come in and just take a seat and see how everything is working firsthand.”

Veteran leadership

Hass has been Commander of the West Milford VFW Post 7198 since 2023 and the Commander of District 1 (Passaic County) of the NJVFW since the summer of 2024. He is also the Leading Knight at the West Milford Elks Lodge 2236. Hass has been front and center at community events including Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and 9/11 tributes.

“I’ll continue to lead this great group of veterans from combat theaters of Korea, Vietnam, Beirut, the Gulf War, and the Global War on Terrorism,” Hass said. “Together, we have achieved All-State and All-American statuses for the last two years and we are working on our third set.”

Military service

After high school graduation in 1988, Hass found college was not for him at the time. He fell in love with the military lifestyle and after serving the obligatory six months in the U.S. Army Reserves, he enlisted in the regular army and never looked back.

“I guess you can say I was motivated by a sense of patriotism and a sense of doing something different than the norm,” Hass said.

Hass retired as a Sergeant First Class(E-7) in 2012 after serving for just over 21 years. He had tours at seven different duty stations: Fort Carson, CO; Fort Bragg, NC; Fort Lewis, WA; Fort Drum, NY; Fort Sam Houston, TX; and Fort Campbell, KY. Hass had also deployed to four different combat theaters: Kosovo (1999); the Philippines (2002); Afghanistan (2003); and Iraq (2010).

Post-military service

Following military retirement, Hass worked for a last-mile home delivery company in Oakland, NJ, where he helped implement new policies and procedures to increase efficiency and ensure a high-quality service delivery of products.

He later joined the company’s IT department as an Information Technology (IT) manager, then soon became IT Director overseeing the IT department.

To assist in this role, Hass earned a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Information Technology Management from Ramapo College in 2020 and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Ramapo College in 2023.