Former Ocean County State Senator John F. Russo Dies At 83

There was a time in Ocean County when Democrats won major legislative races. And John F. Russo Sr. played a major role during that era.

Russo, 83, died at home on Saturday night, after a long illness, said Russell K. Corby, the team's former director of their legislative office.

Russo was part of the seemingly unstoppable Democratic triumvirate of Russo-Doyle-Newman, who came to power during the Watergate era. Russo was first elected to the state Senate in 1973, along with his running mates who won state legislative seats.

Russo was the first Democrat from his district to be elected to the New Jersey Senate in nearly 100 years. He was re-elected five times by some of the largest margins in the state. He joked that at the beginning of his political career, the entire Democratic Party in Ocean County could fit in a phone booth.

During his 18 years as a Senator, he authored more that 200 laws and was involved in virtually every major public policy issue at one time or another during his 18 years as a state Senator. Senator Russo was elected Ocean County Democratic Chairman for four terms during the 1970s. He served as Senate Majority Leader in 1978, and again in 1984 and 1985.

Corby - who had his own public relations and marketing firm in the early 1970s - worked for the team for many years as director of their legislative office.

"He was out there at the shopping centers," said Corby, who served mayor of Pine Beach for 20 years."He actually talked to people. It's not like today, where you are part of an algorithm, when you get messages on your phone."

Politics was a kinder profession back then, he said.

"You still had to walk up Main Street in Toms River and see your opponent," he said.

Russo graduated from Notre Dame with a bachelor's degree in 1955, and from Columbia University with a law degree in 1958. He was admitted to the New Jersey Bar Association in 1960. He also served as an assistant Ocean County Prosecutor for 10 years.

Photo: Courtesy of Asbury Park High School Hall of Fame