Introduction-by Shinji


In our small town of Nutley we have a commission form of government. Few towns still use this type of government. Actually we started out with only three commissioners because of our low population in 1910. It wasn’t until 1930 that our population was large enough to have five commissioners.

Even though few towns use this form of government we have been successful with all 44 commissioners since 1912. The technique for electing a commissioner is to have candidates, who want to run, get 180 people to sign their petition. After the election, the top five (in highest to lowest order) pick the department they will be director for. The commissioner with the most votes gets the mayor job too. Nutley has had six commissioners that have served our town for over twenty years.

Those commissioners are:

Harry W. Chenoweth (40 years)
John Lucy (39 years)
Carmen Orechio (36 years)
William Jernick (32 years)
Frank Cocchiola (28 years)
A. Theodore DeMuro (29 years)

Some of our commissioners sure did serve us for a long time and I hope we keep this commission form of government for many more years to come. It works for Nutley.

 

What We Learned from this Project

As you will see all our local leaders seem to have the same feeling of enthusiasm for Nutley. They were committed to community service before they ever thought about running for office. When elected to the commission, they brought their ideas and experiences to their departments. Each one wanted to do more for the township but they didn’t work alone to accomplish that. They got support from people in their departments and the community to help them achieve their goals.

Under their leadership the citizens of Nutley feel safe and secure. They know where they can reach out for help or assistance. They enjoy coming together and participating in the programs and special events that are offered through each department.


Through this project we learned that we are all leaders and have the ability to make a positive difference.

CyberFair Club 2004

Commissioner Cocchiola interviewed by Radcliffe School
Commissioner Evans interviewed by Yantacaw School
Laura, Nicole, Jessica,Samantha, Kim, Jennifer, Alison
 Anette, Emily, Henry, Les, Michael, Nat, Shinji, Simone

 

Commissioner Orechio interviewed by Washington School
AJ, Alyssa, Britney, David, Ernie, Mark, Raj

 

Mayor Scarpelli interviewed by Lincoln School
Commissioner Tucci interviewed by Spring Garden School
Anthony, Christina, Angelo, Tara, Matt
AlexAnne, Bryan, Charles, Courtney, Dylan, Ryan, Sajni, Steve

 

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comments: cosieja at nutleyschools.org