George John Otlowski (January 3, 1912 – March 16, 2009) was an American publisher turned Democratic Party politician who served on the

Board of Chosen Freeholders In New Jersey, a Board of County Commissioners (until 2020 named the Board of Chosen Freeholders) is the elected county-wide government board in each of the state's 21 counties. In the five counties that have an elected county executive, the ...

for

Middlesex County, New Jersey Middlesex County is located in central New Jersey, United States, extending inland from the Raritan Valley region to the northern portion of the Jersey Shore. As of the 2020 United States Census, the county's population was enumerated at 863, ...

for eight years. He served in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

for 18 years, and was

Mayor of Perth Amboy, New Jersey The Current Mayor of Perth Amboy is Helmin Caba, who was elected on December 15, 2020 after defeating Wilda Diaz and was sworn in on January 1, 2021. Perth Amboy, New Jersey is governed under the Mayor-Council system of municipal government under t ...

for 14 years.

Biography

He was born on January 3, 1912. His first job was at an asphalt company working as a water boy, having lied about his age and claiming he was 16. Otlowski's initial career was as in

publishing Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

, as president of a company that printed

Polish language Polish (Polish: ''język polski'', , ''polszczyzna'' or simply ''polski'', ) is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In ad ...

newspapers for the large Polish community in the area. He became active in the city's Democratic political machine, which was led by former

New Jersey Attorney General The attorney general of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state and oversees the Department of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by the governor of New Jersey, confirmed by the New Jersey Senate, and term limit ...

David T. Wilentz. In 1944, he took a position as assistant to Perth Amboy's mayor, John Delaney.Rispoli, Michael
"Former Perth Amboy Mayor George J. Otlowski dies"
''

The Star-Ledger ''The Star-Ledger'' is the largest circulated newspaper in the U.S. state of New Jersey and is based in Newark. It is a sister paper to '' The Jersey Journal'' of Jersey City, ''The Times'' of Trenton and the '' Staten Island Advance'', all of ...

'', March 16, 2009. Accessed July 6, 2010. Otlowski first sought elective office in 1955, winning the first of two terms on the Middlesex County Board of Chosen Freeholders. In the 1962 primary for the newly formed

New Jersey's 15th congressional district New Jersey's 15th congressional district in the House of Representatives was a relatively short-lived district that was created after the 1960 Census and eliminated as a result of the redistricting cycle after the 1980 Census. New Jersey had ...

, Otlowski lost to Edward J. Patten, a former mayor of Perth Amboy. He won his first General Assembly race in 1973, representing the 19th Legislative District and served there until 1992. In the Assembly, he supported legislation to aid the mentally ill and those living in nursing homes, and helped create

Middlesex County College Middlesex College, formerly known as Middlesex County College, is a public community college with its main campus in Edison, New Jersey. Founded by the Middlesex County Board of Elected Freeholders in 1964, the two-year college serves the needs ...

. In the 1991 primary elections, Otlowski lost a three-way race for the two Assembly seats in the district. Perth Amboy elected him as its mayor in 1976, serving what ''

'' described as a "stormy tenure". In the years following his election, the city saw a major demographic change with a substantial increase in the

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

population and gradually ''The Star-Ledger'' described how the people "were turning against him". Two Hispanic candidates ran against Otlowski in the 1988 mayoral race, with

Joseph Vas Joseph Vas (born January 18, 1955) is an American Democratic Party politician, who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2004 to 2010, where he represented the 19th Legislative District. He did not seek re-election to the assemb ...

coming in second by 325 votes.Cheslow, Jerry
"Hispanic Groups Seek A Voice in Perth Amboy"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', January 1, 1989. Accessed July 6, 2010. In 1989, the candidates Otlowski had supported for city council lost in the local elections and he was unable to work with the slate that won election. By 1990, he was facing a

recall election A recall election (also called a recall referendum, recall petition or representative recall) is a procedure by which, in certain polities, voters can remove an elected official from office through a referendum before that official's term of of ...

petition led by Vas and he decided to step down two years into his term of office, saying "I had a lot of fun being mayor. There were tremendous challenges. It was like fighting some kind of dragon." Otlowski lived on Kennedy Street in Perth Amboy, just blocks from where he was born. He died at age 97 on March 16, 2009, at Raritan Bay Medical Center in Perth Amboy. He wrote an obituary for himself in his later years that said "He loved the city as strongly and deeply as he loved his family".Malwitz, Rick
"Former Perth Amboy mayor George Otlowski Sr. dies at 97"
''

Courier News The ''Courier News'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Somerville, New Jersey, that serves Somerset County and other areas of Central Jersey. The paper has been owned by Gannett since 1927. Notable employees *John Curley, former presid ...

'', March 17, 2009. Accessed July 6, 2010.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Otlowski, George 1912 births 2009 deaths American politicians of Polish descent American publishers (people) Mayors of Perth Amboy, New Jersey Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly County commissioners in New Jersey 20th-century American politicians