West Caldwell resident and Essex County Freeholder Leonard (Lenny) Luciano is busy
working as a Newark public school library media specialist, but said he is now officially hooked on working in county government. Luciano (D) is just completing his first term as an Essex County Freeholder, and is seeking reelection in district 4.
“I knew I would want to run again,” he said. “I really enjoyed representing all 11 towns in the county, and I have a very good working relationship in all of our towns, no matter their political party affiliations. At the end of the day, I serve all the residents of Essex County.”
Luciano said he was very happy with his achievements as a first term freeholder, which he enthusiastically described.
“It was busy, and some of the things I am most proud of include my work with the mosquito committee,” he said. “We are really doing everything we can, and this year was much better than previous years with the mosquitoes. With our program,we have a pro-active plan to kill mosquitoes but we also kill their larvae, so future generations are killed.”
Another major accomplishment under Luciano's watch were the upgrades to parks for district 4.
“I worked on all the parks and rec, with all the upgrades for things like the handicapped accessible picnic area at Grover Cleveland Park,” he noted. “We just refurbished the bird house at Verona Park. Our parks are very important to us.”
Luciano said he also keeps his eye on the tax rate.
“As a freeholder, I do not vote for things unless I know where the money is going, and
I am proud of my record as a freeholder for the last 3 years.”
Taxes are a major concern for this freeholder.
“We need to somehow continue to maintain our tax level and not grow it,” he said. “The truth of the mater is that the cost of health care for county employees continues to go up, as we have 3,700 employees and have to pay the health care. Also we continue to do infrastructure projects which all cost money. And, even if costs go up we need to keep our residents safe. But we do have the 3rd lowest county tax increases in the state.”
One way Luciano said he saves taxpayer dollars is by not taking a pension or health benefits.
“I decided not to take either a pension or the health benefits,” he noted.
Looking forward, he said, he has some projects he wants to work on in the county.
“I do care a lot about public safety, and feel we need to focus on this with burglaries, car jackings and auto thefts,” Luciano said. “The Essex County prosecutor’s office and Essex county sheriff discussed a plan with us to raise awareness. We want to help our residents be aware so it doesn’t happen to them.”
