Mayor Kelly Takes Helm Of Nutley, Youngest In Town History

NUTLEY, NJ — A packed house was in attendance to witness the swearing-in ceremony for Nutley’s youngest-ever mayor and several recently re-elected town commissioners this week.

Tuesday’s meeting of the commissioner board marked a milestone for the township when 39-year-old John Kelly III was sworn in as mayor. He follows in the footsteps of his grandfather, John Kelly, who was mayor from 1988 to 1992.

Kelly took the reins from Scarpelli, the town’s previous mayor.

“This journey started way earlier than my announcement for re-election, the campaign, and even my election four years ago,” he said, taking up the mayoral gavel and his new place behind the center desk for the first time.

“It started over 39 years ago,” he continued, referring to the lessons he gleaned from his parents and other family members.

Kelly said he plans to work with the Nutley Board of Education and his commissioner peers to “enhance the destination of life that is Nutley.”

“Most of all, I want to hear from the residents of Nutley on how we can continue to keep Nutley a destination of life,” Kelly said. “I'm always available for discussion. My door is always open and my ear is always ready to listen. I want to hear from you at any time.”

BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

According to the municipal website, the commissioners function as the legislative authority of the municipality. They are elected at-large in nonpartisan elections to serve concurrent four-year terms. The mayor is selected from among the commissioners (often the one who received the most votes), and in addition to making most of the key appointments, has a “vague, often undefined” supervisory authority.

This week’s meeting also saw the reappointment of the other township commissioners – Alphonse Petracco, Joseph Scarpelli, Mauro Tucci and Thomas Evans – each of whom emerged victorious in Nutley’s 2024 municipal election alongside Kelly. Read More: Belleville, Nutley 2024 Election Results (See Local Updates)

The departmental assignments included the Department of Revenue and Finance (Evans), Director of the Department of Parks and Public Property (Tucci), Department of Public Works (Scarpelli), Department of Public Safety (Petracco).

Kelly will serve as the head of the Department of Public Affairs, in addition to his new mayoral post.

Each of the commissioners commented on their new terms:

Evans – “I will deliver my best ability every day throughout this term. I look forward to sitting with my fellow commissioners. The challenges that we face and we look to this next term are significant. But I'm fortunate in that I think, as a governing body, we have demonstrated what it means to work together to trust one another and to make good decisions for the benefit of the community.”

Tucci – “I look forward to continue serving with my fellow commissioners once again. I know today we have some of our Board of Education members in the audience and I just want to reassure them that I – and I'm sure I can speak for the mayor and all the commissioners – will always stand with you. We'll get through this crisis, we will right this ship. We will do whatever is humanly possible to make sure that our children get the education that they deserve and that our professionals are treated fairly.”

Scarpelli – “Thank you for the honor and privilege of serving the people of Nutley as your mayor for the last two years. Now we can continue our efforts to preserve parking and beautiful open space and kickstart the revitalization of Franklin Avenue. We have other challenges as well. We have to see how we can be helpful to our school system as we cannot let our students' education suffer. The overcrowding issue remains and still has to be solved. We have to reinvigorate our downtown and bring the redevelopment of the Ciccolini property to the finish line. I'm very excited about the future of our town.”

Petracco – “I want to thank everyone that serves in public safety. I have to tell you, the police have a very, very difficult job. They're out there 24/7, snow, rain, whatever the weather may be, holidays, Christmas. And they do a great job of working with our fire department. I am honored to serve another term in this great township of ours. And I am proud to serve with my mentors and peers here on the board of commissioners. Lastly, I want to congratulate Mayor Kelly, whose family has been a Nutley institution for decades.”

During Tuesday’s meeting, Kelly appointed Alan Genitempo as municipal judge and Jonathan Bruno as municipal attorney.

Send local news tips and correction requests to eric.kiefer@patch.com. Learn more about advertising on Patch here. Find out how to post announcements or events to your local Patch site. Don’t forget to visit the Patch Belleville-Nutley Facebook page.