Vito Perillo used to kick around the idea of running for local office, and finally, at age 93, he did it.
The World War II veteran and former engineer decided to run for mayor of Tinton Falls, New Jersey, going up against a popular incumbent. Perillo, joined by his supportive family and neighbors, knocked on doors across town, introducing himself to voters and letting them know he wanted to lower their municipal tax rate and would be a "fiscally prudent" mayor. On Tuesday, residents of Tinton Falls went to the polls, and Perillo won the nonpartisan election by 300 votes. "I'm the mayor of all the people," he told NJ.com. "Even the people who didn't vote for me."
His grandson, Mike Perillo-Gentile, said he's proud of his grandfather for throwing his hat into the race. "A man of his age, when he said he wanted to run for mayor, any other grandson might have thought he's a little crazy," Perillo-Gentile told NJ.com. "Not if you know my grandfather. When he wants to do something, he does it, and I think it's a heck of a story." Catherine Garcia
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