America’s oldest mayor dies at 100

Vito Perillo, the 100-year-old mayor of Tinton Falls and believed to be the oldest mayor in the U.S., died last night. He was born in 1924, 43 days before Calvin Coolidge was elected president, and served in World War II.

Perillo became a centenarian on September 22.  He had already decided not to run for re-election to a third term this year.

When he was elected mayor in 2017, Perillo was a 93-year-old retired civil engineer. In a nonpartisan municipal election, he ousted incumbent Gerald Turning by 197 votes, 53%-47%.

Four years later, at age 97, voters re-elected Perillo to a second four-year term; he won 38% of the vote in a four-candidate field, outpolling his nearest opponent by four points and 289 votes.

He outlived Council President John Manginelli, who died in November at age 85.

State Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Long Branch) and Assemblywomen Margie Donlon (D-Ocean) and Luanne Peterpaul (D-Long Branch) praised Perillo as “a true public servant and friend whose dedication to his community was as inspiring as his life story.”

“Mayor Perillo proudly served our country in the U.S. Navy during World War 2. At 93 years old, he ran for public office for the first time and won, proving that leadership and passion for one’s community have no age limit,” the three lawmakers said.  “At 100 years old, Mayor Perillo was America’s oldest mayor. His presence in our community was extraordinary, and his impact will be felt for years to come.”

U.S. Senator Cory Booker said “Perillo’s life of service made Tinton Falls and our state so much better.”

“New Jersey will remember him not just as America’s oldest mayor, but as a true public servant,” stated Booker.  “My thoughts are with his loved ones.”

Gov. Phil Murphy said that Perillo “leaves behind an incredible legacy of service.”

Perillo’s death leaves 92-year-old Surf City Mayor Francis Hodgson, Sr. as New Jersey’s oldest mayor.

New Jersey now has the oldest living former U.S. Senator, 94-year-old Nicholas Brady, and the oldest living former congressman, Frank Guarini, who turned 100 in August.  Brady left the Senate in 1982, and Guarini ended his fourteen-year stint in the House in 1993.

For Perillo’s first six years in office, he was the second-oldest elected official in New Jersey.

Millie Sheppard, who won an Ocean Gate Borough Council seat in 2020 at age 96, served one three-year term. She left office on January 1, 2023 and died on July 1, three days after she turned 100.

Hodgson was first elected to the borough council in 1969 and became mayor in 2016 after Leonard Connors retired after 50 years in office.   He is now in his 54th year in public office.

He was re-elected without opposition in 2023 and is not up for re-election until 2027, when he’ll be 95.  His running mate in the last election was his 61-year-old son, who has been a councilman for the last 26 years.  Another son is the Ocean County Assignment Judge.

Hodgson won his first term in 1969, defeating former Democratic Councilman Donald Cummings by over 200 votes.  Cummings, who served in the early 1960s, is believed to be the last Democratic officeholder in Surf City.

This story was updated at 4:20 PM with comment from Gopal, Donlon and Peterpaul, and at 9:53 PM with comment from Booker and Murphy.