By Kevin Coughlin
The Gervasio family has a long history of public service in Morristown, and Jenna M. Gervasio is hoping to follow in those footsteps.
This week she announced plans to run for an at-large seat on the Morristown council.
“I want the residents of Morristown to be heard and I want their concerns brought to the forefront of Morristown’s governing policies and actions,” Gervasio, 34, said in a statement.
Her formal kickoff is scheduled for Saturday, Feb. 11, 2017, at 3 pm at the Hyatt Regency Morristown.
Gervasio said she will run on a Democratic slate that includes Councilwoman Michelle Duprée Harris for mayor, and council candidate Esperanza Porras-Field, a founder of the Morris County Hispanic American Chamber of Commerce.
Harris’ formal kickoff is set for Feb. 18, 2017, at 3 pm in the Morristown Diner. This month she launched a campaign website.
In the June primary they will challenge Mayor Tim Dougherty, council members Michael Elms and Toshiba Foster, and council candidate David Silva, pastor of the Centro Biblico church.
The Mayor, who seeks a third time, launched his slate’s website this week.
No Republican candidates have announced so far.
A DEMOCRAT FROM REPUBLICAN STOCK
Jenna Gervasio hails from Republican stock.
Her grandfather, Emilio J. Gervasio, served terms as Republican mayor in the 1970s and 1980s after a career as a detective with the Morristown police and the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office.
Her father, James Gervasio, ran for mayor in 2009 as a Republican, losing to Dougherty. A commissioner on the Morristown Parking Authority, James Gervasio also has served on the Morristown Partnership. He served in Vietnam during the war, earning a Bronze Star and two Purple Hearts as a sergeant in the Marines.
(Jenna Gervasio’s brother, Jimmy Gervasio, also is a decorated Marine, who served in the Iraq War in the Battle of Nasiriyah. His unit, Charlie Battery 1st Battalion 10th Marines, was part of a Marine Air-Ground Task Force that sustained heavy casualties during the first invasion of Iraq.)
“I was a Democrat when I started voting, it wasn’t until my father ran for council at large, I had switched parties to support him,” Jenna Gervasio said. “My heart has always been Democratic.”
After studying construction management at the Fairleigh Dickinson University Teaneck Campus, she went into the construction industry, where she has worked for 10 years.
She says her knowledge about building construction, estimation, permits and the billing process for commercial and residential projects would benefit the council.
The candidate also is passionate about the arts, and has been an artist for 15 years.
Love the Gervasio Family, their such good people!!! Jenna is amazing and I am so proud of her. I’m excited to watch her on her journey. Fingers crossed!!!
Sounds like a refreshing new outlook for Morristown. It’s time for a new vision and I build a tight community that has each other’s back.