Roccato Looks Back

When the new council members are sworn in and a new mayor and deputy mayor take their oath Monday night, a familiar face won’t be at the dais: Dan Roccato, a two-term councilman who decided not to seek re-election.

But Roccato leaves council knowing it is moving in the right direction.

“We had a very fragmented, broken council with strong personalities and smart people,” he said of the council he joined eight years ago. “But we had a complete inability to find common ground on any issue. The dysfunction was bipartisan. It’s not an indictment … I’ll take my fair share of the blame.

“The last two years we have had the luxury of righting the ship. Four years ago, Seth (Broder) was a breath of fresh air. These are committed, smart people who are always able to find common ground.”

Roccato attributes the ability to get along not to party politics but rather to the issues council had to deal with.

“We had a budget crisis, we didn’t have the luxury of fighting, we had to get along,” he said. “We had to address issues head on. There was a level of maturity and trust that didn’t exist before.”

Roccato said his job was also made easier by the fact that council is served by a township staff that, while strained by the crisis, was extraordinarily capable.

Roccato looked back on his years on council with satisfaction and disappointment.

Roccato, who grew up in Moorestown, said that saving open space, especially in the current economy, is one of the things for which he is most proud.

“The councils I served on preserved a hundred additional acres of open space,” he said. “It’s open and available for all Moorestonians to enjoy. I’m very proud of that.”

He is also happy that a sense of civility, humility and class have been restored to council.

“I think people may not have always been happy, but they were heard,” he said. “We approached our job in a tactful way to make Moorestown look good.”

He does, however, have his disappointment: Town Hall.

“We made a lot of progress,” he said, “but we failed for a combination of reasons. We could have been more aggressive, professionals let us down. We insisted on a fact-filled, transparent process.”

He feels confident the new council will finish what he could not.

“I’m glad to say that Dan Roccato has certainly been a friend to the businesses of Moorestown during his time as mayor,” said Moorestown Business Association President Mark Morgan. “Dan was also very willing to serve as a guest speaker at MBA Meetings, and was always one of our most interesting and informative speakers. On behalf of the MBA, I would like to thank Dan for both his service to the Moorestown business community, as well as his efforts on behalf of all Moorestonians.”

Although he is looking forward to spending more time with his wife, Carol, and four children–Mary Kate, Jack, Julia and Maggie–he is going to miss serving.

“I’m going to miss being with my four friends,” Roccato said. “I’m going to miss working with four great people and working with the (township) staff. It was truly an honor to serve and it was a privilege to be mayor in the best town, some would say in the country definitely in this area.”

He won’t miss the fact that as a councilman you’re always on the job, but he will definitely be busy. He’ll be teaching three classes at Rutgers-Camden, which he has been doing for 11 years. He is president of Quaker Wealth Management and he will get to spend more time doing economic commentary as a Fox News analyst.

As he leaves Moorestown politics, Roccato has a few words of advice for the incoming council: Do things the Moorestown way.

“Bring humble, human principles to the job and people will respect you,” he said.