Joseph Scarpelli

NUTLEY - Mauro Tucci, the 55-year old Commissioner of Parks and Public Safety, is seeking re-election to a third term in office. A retired township manager, Tucci owns Nutley Pool and Spa, and four years ago was the second highest vote-getter.

Born in Newark where he grew up playing football with future County
Executive Joseph DiVincenzo, Tucci said as far as he knows he is only the second commissioner in Nutley’s history who is not a Nutley native.

Running on his record of helping to secure over $1 million in state and county grants for town projects, and maintaining the town’s green character, including its bike and walking paths, Tucci said no one prevails in elections here unless he or she is in touch with the residents. He prides himself on that contact.

NUTLEY - The Commissioner of Revenue and Finance wants a second term on the Board of Commissioners. A certified public accountant and Nutley native, Thomas Evans, 53, is a partner with Price Waterhouse Coopers, and the man on the board who gathers the budgets from the different departments, adds them up and tries to make it all fit.

“I’m the most junior commissioner, but I’m the tallest,” he joked.

Four years ago, Evans was the fourth highest vote-getter on the commission.

NUTLEY - Family businessman Sal Olivo, 56, has served on the Nutley Board of Education for six years and now serves as that body’s board president. In the last election, he was the top vote-getter on the board. His current term comes to an end on April 15.

“I’d like to continue my public service as a member of the commission,” said the candidate, who wants to do a better job of sharing school and municipal services and improving town services overall.

Olivo comes from a line of proud Nutleyites and he’s hoping his family name and record helps translate into votes. His grandfather founded Blue Ribbon Coal, which has stayed in the family and is now called Blue Ribbon Fuel Oil under Olivo’s direction.

NUTLEY - What passes for civic pride in most places would be a form of
indifference in Nutley, where anything less than total commitment to the
town probably means a person is not a Nutley native.

A transplant can endeavor to be a Nutleyite, but it’s a running joke that
one can never put in enough time.

“I’ve been in the community for 35 years,” Planning Board Chairman Phil McGovern told the Nutley Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night in Town Hall, and he paused, seeming to expect the moment of agitation in the room that followed his remark.