Remembering John Rocco: A Man Without Guile

I've spent a lifetime in politics and public relations.

Along the way I've met and interacted with thousands of people including some of the most vivid and memorable personalities you could imagine.

But I've never met nor had the occasion to work for a kinder, more authentic, more loyal friend and dedicated public servant than John A. Rocco who passed away yesterday.

John and I were thrown together by circumstance. It was 1975 and he had just been elected Mayor of Cherry Hill, upsetting the incumbent Mayor John Holden and his entire team. As the PR guy for the township, I was part of that team. John Rocco was Republican and I was a Democrat. Friends told me I'd do well to pack up and look for another job. But, as a professional, I felt I might as well try to continue to serve the township until such time as my services were no longer needed nor wanted. Indeed, I was ready to assist in the transition from an all-Democrat Township Council to one that was all-Republican because that's what the people wanted; that's what they voted for.

And that's how my relationship with John Rocco began.

I did not know the man. I had not campaigned for him. I didn't know any of the people around him nor any of the new members of Township Council. But I went to work for him and his team and day-by-day, week-by-week and month-by-month we formed a relationship -- a relationship that became a lifelong friendship and a bond.

How did it happen?

It happened because of John Rocco -- because of his heart and soul and character; because of the kind of man he was.

John showed leadership qualities and a love of competition right from the start. At West Chester University he was one of the school's all-time top defenders for a soccer program that was among the nation’s elite during his playing days. He led West Chester to the 1956 Eastern International Championship with a 9-1-2 record and followed up that season with an 8-0-1 mark the following fall in which the Golden Rams allowed just five goals in nine games. In all, West Chester went 22-3-4 during his playing career. He was a three-time letter winner and served as the team captain his senior year. He eventually became a member of West Chester University’s Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame.

Dr. John A. Rocco (he was very proud of his doctorate) received his undergraduate degree from West Chester University with a major in education, earned a master's degree in education from Villanova University and was awarded a Doctor of Education degree from Rutgers University. He became the Principal of Woodcrest School in 1964 after being acting principal due to the illness of Edna Kennedy, Woodcrest’s first Principal. At the young age of 28, he became the youngest principal in the state. He stayed there until 1969 when he left for a position at Camden County College. In 1972 he joined the faculty at Rider University as an Associate Professor of Education. He stayed at Rider until about 1994 when he took a similar position at Rowan University.

John came to be known in Cherry Hill as a popular teacher and then as a beloved principal where his attentiveness to the broader school community was impactful. So, his entry into politics was grassroots based and strengthened by the most decent of motives -- a simple desire to serve his town.
Because of this, John Rocco's appeal knew no party boundaries. 

Running as a Republican in a Democrat region was no barrier to him because his sensible, practical approach to problems and issues won him the votes of independents and Democrats alike. Rocco was a team-builder and bridge-builder and these qualities seemed to come natural to him. He quickly built a hugely effective political organization and I soon became a proud part of that group.

Again and again, John defied the odds and his victories piled up. Rocco was elected to the State Assembly in 1979, ousting Democratic incumbents in the 6th district in Governor Brendan Byrne’s second mid-term election. It was the first of a string of stunning triumphs.

Democrats thought they could take out Rocco and and his running mate in 1981 when Congressman Jim Florio from Camden County was the Democratic nominee for governor. But Rocco finished first again and was re-elected. Rocco and his running mate Tom Shusted also outpolled the Democrats in 1983.In the 1985 landslide re-election of Gov. Tom Kean, Rocco and Shusted won by 15,000-vote pluralities against their Democrats opponents. They were re-elected again in 1987 by wide margins.

With Florio heading the ticket again in 1989, Democrats mounted a full-court press to pick up Rocco's seat. Again Rocco finished first with Shusted second, re-elected against tremendous odds. Shusted resigned from the Assembly in 1991and was replaced by Lee Solomon, now a state Supreme Court Justice. In the 1991 and 1993 Rocco and Solomon won easily and Rocco was re-elected in 1995.

To be sure, the biennial campaigns were tough and grueling. The opposition threw everything it had at John. But he remained focused in the face of it all and never seemed to become dour or embittered.

In the Assembly, John was the Assistant Minority Whip in 1984 and 1985, Speaker Pro Tempore from 1986 to 1989 and was the Deputy Speaker starting in 1992. He served as Chair of the Education Committee and as Vice Chair of the Joint Committee on Public Schools And, he gained national and international attention for his good works. 

Legislation proposed by Rocco in 1996 would allow parents to opt out of public school requirements to wear school uniforms. In December 1997, Rocco introduced legislation in the Assembly that would ban public school students from selling candy and other fundraising items door to door, as well as prohibit programs that offered students incentives for higher sales figures. The bill, which would make New Jersey the second in the nation to implement such a ban, was proposed following the rape and murder of an 11-year-old boy from Jackson Township while selling candy and wrapping paper to residents near his home.

Rocco received the Humanitarian Award from the National Conference of Christians and Jews while also receiving the Leadership Award from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. He was also named Legislator of the Year by the National Legislator’s Association and was chosen by Ronald Reagan to second Reagan's nomination for the presidency at the 1980 Republican National Convention. He was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 1980 and 1988 and was chosen to serve as a member of the National Commission for Employment Policy from 1983 to 1989

Through it all, John Rocco remained the same person I first met in 1975 when, as the newly-elected Mayor of Cherry Hill he called me into his office to ask if I enjoyed working for the township. I told him I did. He then asked me if I wanted to continue doing the job. Again, I answered in the affirmative. "Well then, get back to work!" he replied.

Even after I no longer worked for Cherry Hill Township, I continued to work on John Rocco's subsequent campaigns for office and our relationship deepened and became more and more meaningful. Well beyond the point where he no longer held public office, he continued to stay in touch and he was always there if and when I needed him -- often reaching out to touch base at critical moments. In recent years we so enjoyed reminiscing about our time together.

John Rocco was a distinguished academician who never affected a professorial demeanor. Never! He was an honorable public servant who never forgot that he answered to we the people. So, he spoke the language of ordinary people and remained close to the people. He was a proud Italian-American who never forgot his heritage and his roots. 

Beyond all this, he was a sweet man -- a man who remained refreshingly free of the trappings of fame and notoriety. His easy smile and vivid blue eyes bespoke a rare sense of understanding and compassion. He was an outstanding citizen, an exemplary professional, a fine husband, father and grandfather and a person of unquestioned integrity.

Our hearts go out to his wife, Millie, his daughters, sons-in law and grandchildren. May his memory be a blessing!