about yourself. But Heck prefers to wait on that opportunity, at
least until later in this story and only when being prompted.
For now, he turns the praise to an effort he has been part of
with Local 105 to go into middle schools in New Jersey’s urban
areas and talk with students. It’s a peer advocacy initiative de-
signed to help kids at that perishable age develop the social
skills that will make them proactive members of the commu-
nity.
There’s no doubt that Ray brings some influence from his
equally devoted and active wife, Wendy, to this initiative. But it’s
also a manifestation of the passion he has for the cause, wheth-
er it’s civic, law enforcement, family or otherwise.
“My makeup has always been to be community-oriented, to
be part of a bigger picture,” he expounds. “The service opportu-
nity we have is unmatched. I’ve always tried to be the person to
raise the benchmark, to help everybody get up to that level. We
climb the mountain as one.”
The view of the mountain is one of Ray’s defining perspec-
tives – that the team can rise to the occasion. Another obsession
is the desire to always be the helping hand, whether it’s teach-
ing new officers at the Adult Diagnostic and Treatment Center
(ADTC) where he works in first aid, or taking time on the week-
end to perform marriages for officers as a certified justice of the
peace.
“I don’t think he sleeps. I don’t think he eats,” Sullivan quips.
He works at least three jobs as a state correctional officer.
Heck is the Fire Marshall at ADTC and is also assigned to the
Chemical Ordinance Biological Radiological Aid (COBRA) unit
that handles HAZMAT-type operations and works a lot of jobs in
coordination with the NJ State Police. And he is part of the State
Corrections Special Operations Group that does basic SWAT
work and handles other assignments at facilities throughout
the state.
Heck spent the first six of his 23 years with state corrections at
Mountainview Youth Correctional Facility in Annandale. After
moving to ADTC, he pursued his first Local 105 board position
as the facility’s institutional vice president (IVP) in 2000.
In 2015, Heck decided to run for State Delegate. He might
have had previous opportunities to take a step up on the Local
105 board, but his plan to climb this mountain dictated other-
wise. That approach reveals key evidence about what will make
Heck a trustworthy PFRS board member.
“I felt I needed to build a platform and prove myself at the
lower level,” he reasons.
In partnership with President Brian Renshaw and with the
support of a devoted executive board, Heck has taken great
satisfaction from vesting the state’s largest Local in its stake-
holders. Fostering that relationship, he believes, has helped the
Local grow exponentially into an association that listens to its
officers, looks after injured officers, provides mental health re-
sources and has created a mechanism for its members to give
back to the community.
Working alongside Heck at the helm of Local 105, Renshaw
has seen an attribute that endears Ray to everybody he works
with:
“This guy is as loyal you’re going to get,” Renshaw appraises.
“We need to get him on this board, and it will make a differ-
ence.”
Robert Heck, a retired director of public works in Edison,
taught Ray about the value of building relationships and gave
him the work ethic to be out there every day and night if he
could lend a helping hand. Admittedly, Heck has become a bit
obsessive-compulsive about lending a hand.
“He never says ‘no’ when anybody asks for help,” Sullivan
notes. “The way I would sum up Ray is that he will give you the
Ray Heck (right) with State Corrections Local 105 President Brian Renshaw
at Bayside State Prison on State Corrections Day in July.
shirt off his back and never ask for it back.”
The way Ray would sum up Ray is being fortunate to have
such opportunities. The impetus to never say “no” comes from
Wendy and 16-year-old daughter Kaitlyn, who both know they
have to share Heck because he is in that position to help.
“They allow me the time and consideration to help my other
family,” Heck praises. “They realize that you don’t get elected to
a position, you get elected into a culture. The many nights I’m
not home or the nights that I’m stressed out trying to resolve a
complex issue, they have to assist me by lending their husband
and father to their law enforcement family.”
It’s negotiable
Tending to his law enforcement family and his union has
been inspired by an allegiance to public service. This has been
bred into Ray by his family. His mom worked as a tax collector
in Edison. His brother Donald is a detective in the Middlesex
County Prosecutor’s Office and a member of Local 214. His oth-
er brother served as a health official in Edison.
The family way has bred Heck to be labor-oriented and
union-centric to fulfill the passion that drives his public service.
“I like to be a problem solver, and I gravitated toward the
union to be part of the solution to the many challenges in front
of us,” he professes.
Heck’s approach to finding solutions can be defined as me-
ticulous and thorough, which is why NJ State PBA President Pat
Colligan assesses Ray’s candidacy by saying, “He checks all the
boxes.” Those who have ever heard Heck’s State Delegate re-
ports can vouch for the meticulous. They are known to be the
most detailed in the state.
As for thorough, well, confirmation comes from Heck’s report
on the current Local 105 contract negotiations that have been
drawn out and even frustrating. Thorough is a by-product of pa-
tience, which every correctional police officer knows gets tested
on every tour.
“Contract negotiation is controlled chaos,” Heck documents.
“People on the outside looking in might see a dogmatic ap-
proach – slow and belaboring. From the inside, it’s fluid and dy-
namic. Everybody realizes it is taking a long time, but we don’t
want to settle for something short of our goal. Our members
have earned the right to successful negotiation, and we will not
shrink from our responsibility.”
Sounds like Heck has done negotiations before. As mayor of
Millstone currently in his fourth term, he has negotiated with
practically every municipal entity and agency in the processing
of multimillion-dollar budgets.
His degrees and certifications – mini-master’s in strategic
communications, Certified Public Manager and Registered
Municipal Clerk – form the financial pedigree that earns him
cred as mayor and will do so even more as PFRS trustee. He also
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