Toms River Mayoral Race: Jonathan Petro

TOMS RIVER, NJ — As Election Day 2019 nears, Patch is sharing profiles of the candidates for local office.

Here is the profile of Jonathan Petro, the Democratic candidate for Toms River mayor. He is facing Republican Maurice "Mo" Hill (whose profile is here). The answers below are presented as received with only punctuation and capitalization changes.

The two candidates are facing off in a debate Thursday, Oct. 24. It will be televised and you will be able to watch replays. Information on the debate can be found here.

Jonathan Z. Petro

Age: 40

Employment: Attorney. Managing partner of Carluccio, Leone, Dimon, Doyle & Sacks

Any previous elected office (council, school board, etc)? How many years have you served? No previous elected office.

Tell us about your public service (township boards, committees you sit on):

Chairman of Greater Toms River Chamber of Commerce; Ocean County YMCA, chairman from 2014 to 2016; chairman of Ocean County Library Foundation; Ocean County College, gala and concert committees; secretary, Ocean County Vocational Technical School Foundation; Trustee, Ocean County Bar Association, Family Law Committee chairman 2015 to 2018; Garden State Equality; Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ocean County

What conflicts would you have (what won't you be able to vote on) if elected?

I don't know of any conflicts between the office of mayor and my activities, because if elected, I would be resigning from my firm and would be resigning from my board positions in Toms River.

Tell us about the most important thing you do that has nothing to do with politics or your employment:

The most important part of my life that has nothing to do with work or with employment would be my dedication to my family. Unfortunately, we lost both of my parents in the past year. After my father's stroke and my mother's diagnosis, I learned to be a caretaker, mixing kindness with tough love. This has been a trying time for my family, but has caused me to embrace the remaining members of my family, most importantly, my husband, Ken Malagieri; my sister, Candice; our many nieces and nephews (and several godchildren).

What will you do if you are elected mayor:

As to what I would do if elected, I believe our platform speaks for itself, but I would add that I will be a cheerleader for Toms River, will represent all citizens of my hometown, and will work tirelessly to benefit Toms River for the long game.

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