Spotswood elects new councilman

Police Lt. Frank LoSacco elected to one-year term

BY CHRIS ZAWISTOWSKI
Staff Writer

SPOTSWOOD — Get his cell phone voicemail and a new message will greet you:

Hi, this is Councilman Frank LoSacco …

“It’s pretty neat to be able to say that,” LoSacco said. “I’m more excited than words can imagine.”

LoSacco, a lieutenant with the East Brunswick Police Department, won a oneyear term on the Borough Council, beating his opponent, Mike Castronova, 523 to 467. Just over 25 percent of registered voters in the borough voted in the election.

LoSacco, who is married with four children and moved to Spotswood in 2000, said he brings a strong background in both the private and public sector to the Borough Council.

After earning his bachelor’s degree from Kean College in Management Science, LoSacco went on to work for an international steamship agency where he learned about the business world and traveled to various corporate offices throughout the county solving logistical issues for the company.

Then in 1987, LoSacco began his career with the East Brunswick Police Department, starting as a part-time special police officer before moving through the ranks, including a five-year stint with the Community Policing Unit, before attaining his current position as a lieutenant assigned to the watch commander in the patrol section.

He has also earned a master’s degree from Seton Hall University in education administration and supervision and teaches as an adjunct professor of criminal justice at Middlesex County College and Rutgers University.

All of this experience, LoSacco said has given him a wide variety of skills — from problem solving to budgeting to emergency management — that he said will serve him well on the Borough Council.

“I can bring all of that with me, as well as my commitment,” LoSacco said. “I’ve lived my life personally committed to public service, and this is just one way of doing that.”

As a Councilman, LoSacco said he hopes to work with the other borough council members and various department heads to ensure that everything is done in the best interest of residents.

“That’s pretty much the crux of everything I want to do: efficiency in government,” he said.

He said he also hopes to bring small businesses back to the borough and will work to codify the newly adopted master plan, which aims to give Main Street a new downtown feel.

“Taking a look at that plan and responsibly putting it into effect is certainly what I want to do,” LoSacco said.

LoSacco said he will be “open and available” to residents and has already created a variety of ways to get in touch with him, including a Facebook page and oft-updated Twitter account @FrankSpotswood.

“For the next year, I will prove just how hard I am willing to work with the residents, and I will remain in close contact with them throughout the year,” LoSacco said. “I hope this is the beginning of a long-term relationship with the council.”

Council President Curt Stollen welcomed LoSacco to the council and said he looks forward to working with him on the dais.“We are united and it’s all about working to keep Spotswood a great place to live in and doing our best to make it affordable as well,” LoSacco said. “I think we are all on the same page to do that.”

Contact Chris Zawistowski at [email protected].