Roselle Park Mayor Running For Senate Seat, Slams Menendez

ROSELLE PARK, NJ - A familiar face in Union County is running for a state Senate seat in 2024, according to a campaign kickoff announcement released Tuesday.

Roselle Park Mayor Joe Signorello, who is currently serving his second term as mayor, confirmed he will be running for a Senate seat currently occupied by Sen. Bob Menendez.

“When Trump won in 2016, I felt the need to change what I could,” Signorello said in a video announcing his campaign. “Now, the dangers to our democracy are mounting higher than ever, and we need a new set of solutions and fresh perspectives. We need New Jersey to lead.”

Signorello, who was born and raised in Roselle Park in a “small, middle class Roman Catholic Italian American family” according to a campaign statement, has previously advocated for the redevelopment of fallow properties, new affordable housing initiatives, roadway resurfacings and the expansion of recreation programs in the borough, per his council biography.

Signorello didn't shy away from slamming the current senator, calling Menendez an "embarrassment to the democratic party" in the campaign video.

"More importantly, he’s an embarrassment to the state of New Jersey,” Signorello said. “For the past couple of years, we’ve had no other option. Nobody’s been willing to step up to him.”

According to a 2022 Semafor report, Menendez is under a federal investigation in the Southern District of New York, though details of the investigation remain scant. Menendez was previously indicted in 2015 on federal corruption charges, though the probe resulted in a mistrial two years later.

A request for comment from Menendez was not immediately returned.

Though Signorello’s statewide policies has yet to be announced, he’s been a vocal advocate of redevelopment in Roselle Park, particularly in the borough’s downtown area. He has also advocated for ADA compliance upgrades at the borough’s NJ Transit station and passed the borough’s first tax decrease in 23 years in 2022, he said.

"Change something small first," my friends told me. So I became the mayor of my New Jersey hometown, Roselle Park,” Signorello said. “Now I’m ready to change something big.”

You can watch Signorello’s campaign announcement video below: