Gerald A. Calabrese (February 4, 1925 – April 13, 2015) was an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

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 for two seasons with the

Syracuse Nationals The Philadelphia 76ers are an American basketball team currently playing in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The 76ers are third in NBA history in wins and playoff appearances. 1946– ...

Biography

Calabrese was a graduate of

Cliffside Park High School Cliffside Park High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grade from Cliffside Park, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary school of the Cli ...

, where he led the school's team to the state basketball championship. After serving in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, he attended St. John's University, where he was chosen for All-American honors. He went on to a professional

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

career with the Syracuse Nationals, predecessor to today's Philadelphia 76ers. 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

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 ...

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 The New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) is a regulatory authority in New Jersey "with authority to oversee the regulated utilities, which in turn provide critical services such as natural gas, electricity, water, telecommunications and ca ...

, 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

References

External links

Basketball-Reference.com: Gerry Calabrese
{{DEFAULTSORT:Calabrese, Gerald 1925 births 2015 deaths American athlete-politicians American men's basketball players Basketball players from New Jersey Cliffside Park High School alumni County commissioners in New Jersey Mayors of places in New Jersey New Jersey Democrats People from Cliffside Park, New Jersey Sportspeople from Bergen County, New Jersey St. John's Red Storm men's basketball players Syracuse Nationals draft picks Syracuse Nationals players Utica Pros players Wilkes-Barre Barons players Point guards United States Navy personnel of World War II