The oldest mayor in America is Italian. His name is Vito Perillo and holds the office at the ripe old age of 97 years. A real record but above all a splendid story that marks a new chapter of the "American dream" about which so much has been written and said.
Mayor Vito
On 2 November 2021 he was elected for the second time as mayor of Tinton If, a town on the coast of New Jersey. Most of the 18 thousand souls who inhabit the place have decided to rely on the elderly and wise Vito Perillo. Curious is the fact that his mandate will expire when he will be a hundred years old (to be exact he will have turned 101 years old): “It could be my last assignment, but we'll see…”.
Who is Vito Perillo
Born in the Bronx to parents who emigrated from Italy in search of work and fortune, Vito Perillo is a veteran of the Second World War. He spent his life in the Navy first and then in the Pentagon, working as an electronics expert.
He had never ventured into politics until four years ago, when his wife passed away after 60 years of living in communion. Thus, aspiring to the mayor's chair has become a way to reject the sadness of mourning and start again: “I don't know why people vote me. Maybe because I'm a veteran, maybe because I'm an old man, or maybe because they look at the results of the last four years. I love this job. It keeps me alive and keeps me going ”. Numerous challenges await him in the next four years and certainly now all of Italy will be rooting for him.
Photo source: Vito Perillo - https://www.facebook.com/vito.perillo.31
