Anthony Russo is a paradox, someone who loves his native town but is now charged with having sold out that very city.
Russo has been known for his hard-nosed politics, for his passion for Hoboken, and more recently, for his resiliency in battling cancer. Russo served as 3rd Ward councilman from 1991 to 1993 and was mayor from 1993 to 2001, when he was defeated by Mayor David Roberts in a landslide.
During Russo’s mayoral reign, critics charged that he had his hands in too many pots and that his authoritative shadow loomed over the city workers and city boards. His supporters say he was a strong and decisive leader who was willing carry the load and make tough decisions.
Russo saw the failing waterfront come back to life with new parks and development. But he also got into well-publicized battles with opponents. In one case, State Sen. Bernard Kenny accused Russo of swerving his car toward Kenny’s dog while Kenny was walking the dog. Kenny, who had recently begun supporting Councilman (now mayor) David Roberts instead of Russo, dropped the charges.
Russo was born in Hoboken. He graduated from Hoboken High School and received a bachelor’s degree from Murray State University in Kentucky. He returned to New Jersey to receive a master’s degree in education from Jersey City State College. Russo was a special education teacher in the public schools until he became mayor. After losing to Roberts in 2001, Russo returned to the Board of Education in an administrative non-teaching position.
Russo has lived for 30 years in the affordable Church Towers complex (in which rents are kept low but are not subsidized by the government). His wife, Michele, is a real estate broker and former member of the Hoboken Parking Authority (HPA) Board of Commissioners and of the Board of Education. The couple has three adult sons, one of whom, Nicholas, is a city police officer. His other son, Michael, has declared his intention to run for his father’s vacant 3rd Ward City Council Seat.
Russo also runs charitable events through the Anthony Russo Civic Association on Adams Street, which he founded in 1979.
As 3rd Ward councilman in the early 1990s, Russo became involved in battles over the future of large-scale waterfront development plans envisioned by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. At times, he was on the side of the underdog activists in town.
But soon, Russo became an insider with a core group of loyalists.
After Russo became mayor in 1993, he started a quality of life campaign that eventually instituted a “2 a.m. one-way door” for bars, so they could no longer allow new patrons in between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m.
More controversially, he introduced a budget that nearly doubled the municipal portion of the tax bill. When criticized, he cited a deficit left by the previous administration. The previous administration, when leaving office, had acknowledged publicly that they had used up their surplus, and relied on one-shot revenues to make up for a loss of state aid. It was difficult to ascertain how much of Russo’s increase was needed to close the gap.
As Russo’s power increased, he steadily began getting close allies elected to the City Council and Board of Education. He was so unstoppable that at one point, the activist contingent at meetings nearly dwindled completely because the boards were so stacked in Russo’s favor.
Battling cancer
Russo was first stricken with cancer three years ago when a malignant tumor was found in his brain and doctors gave him eight months to live. The tumor was removed in March of 2000 and Russo was treated with 25 sessions of radiation therapy.
Tests later revealed that the cancer had manifested in his lung. He underwent surgery that removed the upper third of his right lung and was treated with six cycles of chemotherapy. A second brain tumor was detected in August 2001. Russo underwent another procedure to remove the tumor. But then remarkably the cancer went into remission in 2002 and doctors cleared Russo to run for public office again.
Re-elected
This past May, Russo won by a convincing margin a seat as the city’s 3rd Ward councilperson. Then, at a tearful press conference this August, Russo dropped the bombshell that his cancer had returned and his health would no longer allow him to serve on the council. Some skeptics said that Russo was using the cancer as an excuse to avoid some of the spotlight of a looming indictment, but by all of the accounts of those closest to Russo, the cancer has returned with a vengeance.
It has moved to his adrenal glands and for the past several months to combat the cancer he has been taking large doses of radiation. As soon as he is done with those he is scheduled to undergo surgery to remove the affected areas. – Tom Jennemann