WEST NEW YORK B Louis Romano may have moved on from his primary seat on the General Assembly in Trenton, but according to the affable former West New York school teacher and administrator, there will be new challenges to face when he takes a full-time position with NJ Transit this month. As a long-time Democrat, the 69-year-old former assemblyman will be joining the NJ Transit Corporation on Jan. 31 as a liaison between the agency and Hudson County. Having served the 33rd District, which includes Guttenberg, Hoboken, Union City, Weehawken, West New York and Jersey City wards C, D, and E, for almost a decade, Romano’s responsibilities will include working with county officials and providing support to community affairs outreach efforts in other counties. Romano feels the job will give him the chance to stay involved in some of the same issues he focused upon in the legislature. “I feel privileged to working with NJ Transit,” he said. “First and foremost, I look forward to staying involved and I feel this job is a perfect match for me. This has afforded me the opportunity to remain active where I once played a major role. These are exciting times and I’m not a party animal, but I see this as another step in my own career to continue what I have started in the legislature.” According to Jeff Warsh, the agency’s executive director, Romano, who now collects a pension from decades of service with the West New York Board of Education, will be paid a $50,000 stipend per year and will work out of NJ Transit’s Newark office. Warsh said Romano’s skills will be needed to work with local and other officials on more than $4 billion worth of transit projects in the county, including the new Hudson Bergen Light Rail that is schedule to open in the spring 2000. Warsh says Romano will be an enormous benefit to the corporation. “Being a former assemblyman for Middlesex County, I have known Lou for five or six years and I think he’s the perfect guy to come on board,” Warsh said. “He is well-known and well-regarded with his constituents, and he’s been a proponent for transportation issues since he’s been in the legislature. I feel he understands the ins and outs of the quality service we want to provide to the people of New Jersey, and I think his addition to our team will help us move forward and reach our goals.” Before he served on the General Assembly, Romano worked with the West New York Board of Education for nearly four decades, where he conceived ideas and helped implement programs that make up the school system today. He became involved with the district in the early 1960s, teaching at various elementary schools. He then served as a supervisor of the board’s industrial education programs, which lead to the position of assistant superintendent of schools in the 1980s. He later became secretary/business administrator and retired in 1994. Romano believes that through his years of dedicated service, he paved roads for many changes. “The pressure was always on trying to improve our school system, especially in the urban districts that were underserved,” he said. “When I look at the progress that has been made, I am proud to have been a part of a team of educators who believed in monitoring programs for the Abbott [‘special needs’] districts. It has helped move our educational system forward and I believe it will only get better.” Warsh shares Romano’s optimism. “Our goal is to be able to build a list of transportation projects to a level that state, county and local officials will recognize the importance of what we are trying to do,” he said. “Lou is a person who will help bridge that gap and we are enthusiastic about the possibilities that lie ahead.”
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