Jason F. Cilento was sworn-in as Mayor of his New Jersey hometown on January 1, 2020. Born and raised in Dunellen, Jason was educated at both its public elementary and high school system before earning his B.A. in Political Science from Kean University and his Master of Public Administration from Rutgers University. Jason was first elected to Borough Council at the age of 20 and served in that position for nine years. He also served as Council President in 2019 before being elected as the Mayor of New Jersey’s Miracle Mile.
Having grown up in Dunellen, Jason has not only advocated for responsible budgets, improved infrastructure, and growing economic development, but also has recognized the importance of preserving Dunellen’s natural beauty and advocating for cleaner and more sustainable neighborhoods, noting how each community playing their part adds to the bigger picture. During his term as Mayor, Jason has worked across the aisle with Council-Members to enact stronger and more enforceable ordinances against polluting waterways and the overuse of public garbage receptacles from multi-use properties downtown. In addition, he’s enacted an ordinance that limits the amount of handbills and circulars that are placed on resident properties from private and unsolicited vendors. These ordinances were enacted to not only improve the aesthetics of Dunellen’s small community, but also prevent debris from harming our storm water system.
Furthermore, as Dunellen continues to bring forth the revitalization and development of its downtown, Jason worked with the Borough Council to enact electronic vehicle parking in downtown development projects and strongly encouraged developments build under an LEED rating system. During its downtown redevelopment, Dunellen has worked with builders to implement an enhanced streetscape and provide more shade trees. Jason works closely with the Dunellen Shade Tree Commission to find more areas to plant new trees, either through partnership with residents or when there are road improvements projects. Jason is also the lead Mayor in a recent initiative along with several regional Mayors called the Mayors Alliance for a Clean Green Brook Waterway. Partnering across municipal boundaries allows for the mayors to build a coalition of volunteers between each community to keep the Green Brook waterway clean of debris and have a greater impact in not only clean-ups, but also broader educational opportunities. Finally, Jason is also a member of the national organization Climate Mayors, advocating for a similar mission as Leadership for Climate Accountability.
Jason is honored to serve as mayor of the hometown that helped raise him. He looks forward to calling Dunellen home for years to come with his future wife Lindsay and creating a town where his future children and all Dunellen residents’ children are proud to grow up in.