New Essex County Freeholder Breath of Fresh Air

Lilli
True to his word, Essex County Freeholder (district 4) showed up - and stayed - at the West Caldwell reorginization meeting on January 2.
Diane Lilli
Posted

Essex County Freeholder Len Luciano has been on the job for a few months already, since he took over the seat vacated by former freeholder Linda Lordi Cavanaugh, who decided to resign after serving the county for 13 years.

But once settled in the office, Luciano knew he’d be up for election in only a few short months, and set to work to learn the job and let the residents of Essex County in district 4, the largest district in the county, what he was all about and why he should get their vote.

The race for election wasn’t easy. Luciano, a youthful 30 years old, had to work tirelessly, going door to door and canvassing neighborhoods from West Orange to Essex Fells, speaking one on one to voters who did not know what he stood for, or why they should vote for him. Along the way, this youthful candidate made promises: to keep things honest in the county by watching the ethics in government and also to be present in local towns, so the residents could feel like they had his ear.

Now, after handily winning the election, Luciano decided to set his sights on making his mark in a personal way - and has vowed to attend local council meetings throughout district 4.

"I am proud to represent 11 municipalities which is half of Essex County,” noted Luciano. “I will make every effort to be visible at local Mayor and Council meetings in order to get direct feedback from the municipal elected officials and residents of each community."

Luciano, who hails from West Caldwell, added he plans to come through with his campaign promises.

 

"Over the next three years I plan to fulfill my campaign promises of being a fiscal watchdog for the taxpayers of Essex County while looking at all avenues in order to create jobs and bring businesses to the many vacant store fronts throughout the 11 communities I represent,” said Luciano.

With the economy still wreaking havoc throughout the state, and especially in Essex County, Luciano will have plenty of work ahead of him. Attending the council meetings in district 4, which includes a total of 11 municipalities including Caldwell, West Caldwell, North Caldwell, Cedar Grove, Essex Fells, Fairfield, Livingston, Millburn, Roseland, Verona, and West Orange, will surely keep this energetic freeholder busy.

Since another big issue during Luciano’s campaign was the topic of ethics in government, Luciano said he plans to keep working on keeping government ethical and responsible for all of his constituents, and to focus on working with other county officials to improve safety and public areas.

“I openly support strong ethics laws in Essex County and look forward to working with my colleagues and the County Executive to continue to enhance parks, recreation, and safety services provided to the residents,” said Luciano.

Luciano is, by far, the youngest member of the board of Freeholders that includes: Blonnie R. Watson, President/At large; Ralph R. Caputo Vice President / District 5; Rufus I. Johnson, Freeholder-At-Large; Patricia Sebold, Freeholder-At-Large; Donald M. Payne, Jr., Freeholder-At-Large; Rolando Bobadilla, District 1; D. Bilal Beasley, District 2; Carol Y. Clark, District 3; Leonard M. Luciano, District 4.