John V. Kelly

John Vincent Kelly, Sr. (July 11, 1926 – October 30, 2009) was an American Republican Party politician who served as Mayor of Nutley, New Jersey and served nine terms in the New Jersey General Assembly, before losing two electoral bids to win a seat in the New Jersey Senate.

Kelly was born in Jersey City, New Jersey on July 11, 1926, to an Irish father and an Italian mother. There he attended St. Nicholas Grammar School and St. Peter's Preparatory School. He served in the United States Army during World War II as a demolitions expert in the Philippines. After completing his military service, he earned a degree in accounting and finance from Saint Peter's College in 1951. While in college during the day, he worked at night at the Erie Railroad docks and for the Railway Express Agency.

He worked as an accountant for the firm of Peat, Marwick, and Mitchell (now part of KPMG), where one of his responsibilities was auditing Nutley Savings and Loan. He was hired in 1962, became comptroller and a board member the following year and executive vice president in 1971. He was named president and chairman after the death of John Dolan. Under his leadership, the savings and loan was ranked 13th among the 200 S&Ls statewide, with 22,000 customers and $212 million in assets, grown from the $60 million at the start if his tenure.

He first won a seat in the New Jersey General Assembly in 1981 against Democrat Mary V. Senatore. He was unseated two years later by 26-year-old Democratic Party candidate Steve Adubato, though Kelly would take the seat back in 1985. In the Assembly, Kelly sponsored legislation in 1991 that established the first law in the state requiring children under 14 to wear a helmet while riding a bicycle, scooter or skateboard. In 1997, he sponsored legislation to set standards to license hospice programs. Other legislation among the 143 bills he authored that were signed into law include a bill requiring that all state insurance companies provide coverage for mammograms and pap smears.

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