Mayor Emeritus Michael Anthony Soriano was born in Augusta, Georgia to Sergeant Ramon Soriano and Ada Perez-Soriano living at the Fort Gordon United States Army base.
After his father left the service, he was raised in Brooklyn and Flushing, Queens. While attending John Jay College, Soriano worked for the Boy Scouts of America in the Harlem and Washington Heights neighborhoods in Manhattan. He graduated in 1990 with a degree in public administration.
In 1993. After his stint in the Boy Scouts, he began an apprenticeship with the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local Union #3, the same union his father was a member of. Soriano became a full-time electrician, and served as a journeyman, foreman and superintendent on various building projects in New York City.
Soriano was active in the union, serving as the Chairman of the Apprenticeship Advisory Committee and as Legislative chairman of the Santiago-Iglesias Educational Society, the union’s Hispanic-American club. Soriano moved to the Lake Hiawatha section of Parsippany in 2002, and soon after wards became active in the township’s politics. He served as Chairman of the township’s Democratic committee beginning in 2006.
In 2017, Soriano announced his run for Mayor against two-term Republican incumbent James Barberio. He won the primary election with 89 percent of the vote, and defeated Barberio in the general election with 53 percent of the vote in an election that focused on the influence of controversial township attorney John Inglesino. The race attracted statewide attention due to the traditionally Republican nature of Morris County and Soriano’s Puerto Rican heritage.
He was sworn into office on January 1, 2018. He began his tenure with replacements of the township attorney, chief of police, and business administrator, restructuring the township’s senior leadership team. His other initiatives have included the opening of the vast Jersey City Reservoir property for public recreation and expansion of special police officer patrols in township schools.
Soriano has been seen as an ally of New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. He has joined Murphy’s call for a $15/hour minimum wage in New Jersey, and stood with the Governor in opposing legislative Democrat’s controversial state redistricting proposal. Murphy has formally recognized Soriano for his contributions to New Jersey’s Hispanic-American community, including his service on the state’s Puerto Rico Relief Commission.
Soriano is also an Eagle Scout who enjoys the outdoors and serves as a trustee of the New Jersey Highlands Coalition, however his proudest achievement is becoming a father in 2005 to his son Leo.
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