HILLSBOROUGH - Ray Heck sees people struggling out there - mothers working two jobs, families trying to stay in the middle class as costs mount - and he wants to build a society where people can make memories together.

That's how he describes what he wishes for people whose lives too often consist of just trying to figure out how to survive - with no time for precious memories.

A police officer for 31 years, Heck was born and raised in Edison before moving to Somerset County, raising his family, and getting involved in politics. A fourth generation New Jerseyan, he was always political, and so it with something like enthusiasm that he embraced the job of mayor of Millstone, which the people have elected him for going on five terms now.

In politics, he did things a little differently than most, choosing to keep his mouth shut and his ears open. A hands-on local guy who became the first mayor in Millstone's history to jet ski down Main Street after Hurricane Sandy, he also excelled at building relationships beyond his hometown and assuming leadership of organizations like the New Jersey League of Municipalities and the New Jersey Council of Mayors.

Through it all, he maintained his first responder, police officer situational awareness, common sense attitude, and the priority of labor. A long-serving member of the Police Benevolent Association, Heck serves as PBA pension representative and chairman of the organization's management and policy Committee.

"Management's not your enemy but your partner," he told InsiderNJ.

That cross-section of public service and labor, that's Ray Heck - himself the son of a public servant from Edison, and the mayor of a town of 448 people trained to help people on the ground - and care.

The Democrat wants to go to Congress in the 12th District (that's the seat now occupied by retiring U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman) to offer the perspective of a family, small town guy who's worked the beat and wants people to be less beat when they work, to truly enjoy the fruits of their labor with their families.

Proud of New Jersey law enforcement, he hates his brother and sister officers impugned by bad police officers and organizations in other states.

"I am an Obama 21st century policing proponent, and we are not the problem because of what happens on the other side of the country," says the cop at heart. "We are the exception in many cases. We are the best. We know how to do things right. We're not the warrior mentality. We are the guardians.  We're great.

"We can always be better," he admits.

But at the core, Heck wants to uphold the values of labor and law enforcement in a party, which sometimes seems to have lost its way on that front.

It's no accident, for example, that the NJ PBA this year backed Republican Jack Ciattarelli over Democrat Mikie Sherrill in the gubernatorial election.

Heck sees a deeper story, which he happily - but also solemnly - embodies in his party, which strongly opposes anarchy of the kind that resulted in a MAGA mob's January 6, 2021 desecration of the United States Capitol and the death of Officer Brian Sicknick.

A self-described religious and purposeful man, Heck sees a society never far removed from disorder and calmly accepts his responsibility to maintain the peace. If elected to Congress, he would like to focus on healthcare reform, housing and social programs, and, of course, labor. In addition, he would like to give more tools to Immigration and Customs Enforcement to change the culture at ICE from punishing enforcement agency contributing to people's hardships, to a more effective bureaucracy that helps people become United States citizens. "Let's get more staff to get in there and get that process moving so people here now are no longer afraid to leave their houses because they're going to get deported," said the candidate.  "Let's give professionals the right tools to do the right job."

His main priority remains easing the burden shouldered by working people.

"We do have an affordability problem," Heck said, refuting President Donald J. Trump, who on a trip to Pennsylvania earlier this week said we don't have an affordability problem.

"Healthcare is a nightmare in and of itself," added the mayor.

He wants to change that and make ease of healthcare access part of an overall improvement strategy for the quality and affordability of life for people in the 12th District.

So, how does he get through the Democratic Primary?

"It's all about what direction you have," said Heck. "My perspective is I'm a labor person who's also a mayor and middle class. My goal is to make memories. We're all the same. The only way to make memories is to ensure a good wage, healthcare and pension system for people so they can live with their families and enjoy life. That is the work I want to focus on in federal government."

A well-meaning smile and handshake follow at the end of an interview.