Gerald A. Calabrese (February 4, 1925 – April 13, 2015) was an American politician who served as Mayor of Cliffside Park, New Jersey continuously for 50 years, from 1965 to 2015. He was a member of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
. Earlier in life, Calabrese played in the
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
St. John's University St John's University may refer to:
*St. John's University (New York City)
**St. John's University School of Law
**St. John's University (Italy) - Overseas Campus
*College of Saint Benedict and Saint John's University, St. Joseph, Minnesota and Col ...
, where he was chosen for All-American honors. He went on to a professional basketball career with the Syracuse Nationals, predecessor to today's
Philadelphia 76ers
The Philadelphia 76ers, colloquially known as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eas ...
.
Calabrese was elected to the Cliffside Park Borough Council in 1955, and then became mayor in 1959. He was re-elected as mayor in 1965 and served continuously as the borough's chief executive until his death in 2015. He was elected to the
Bergen County
Bergen County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Board of Chosen Freeholders in 1975, 1978 and 1982, and was Freeholder Director in 1984. From 1960 until January 1991, Calabrese was employed by the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities, retiring as the director of water and sewage. He also served as chairman of the Bergen County Democratic Organization for multiple years.
, Calabrese was the longest-serving mayor in the State of New Jersey. He secured hundreds of thousands of dollars, sometimes millions, every year for the borough of Cliffside Park and one of the longest-serving mayors in the United States.
After 50 continuous years as mayor, Calabrese died on April 13, 2015, at the age of 90.http://www.northjersey.com/news/hundreds-gather-at-funeral-for-gerry-calabrese-n-j-s-longest-serving-mayor-1.1311767