By Cathy Padilla
PublishedFebruary 7, 2023 at 2:40 AM
KEYPORT, NJ: Rose Araneo is serving her first term as the Mayor of the Borough of Keyport. With a career in business operations and finance, she has worked for companies such as Paul Sebastian, Au’some, and currently she is Sr. Vice President of Operations for 3rd Party Logistics Group.
She lives with her fiancé and best friend, Jim Bishop, and their two Pekinese fur babies, Nico and Bella.
Meet your mayor – Rose P. Araneo.
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TAPinto: Were you raised in Keyport?
Mayor Araneo: I grew up in Irvington, NJ and moved to Keyport the last month of my freshman year of high school. We lived on Broad Street. At 27, I purchased a home in Cliffwood Beach on Beach Drive. My backyard overlooked Keyport and the Raritan Bay until I sold 15 years later. I then moved to Long Branch for about 10 years before coming back to Keyport five years ago. During my years in Cliffwood Beach, I was in Keyport just about every day. My parents and most of my siblings were still in Keyport then.
TAPinto: Have you and Mr. Bishop added any more fur babies besides Nico and Bella:
Mayor Araneo: We have not added any additional fur babies as Nico and Bella are enough to handle. They are both Pekinese and from the same litter. They came into my life two weeks before Hurricane Sandy. During Hurricane Sandy, Nico & Bella kept all the residents of the Sea Verge Apartments in Long Branch entertained. I believe that is the reason both of them are so friendly with everyone they meet.
Meet Nico:
Meet Bella:
TAPinto: You also have family history in Keyport that goes back before your parent's move to Keyport when you were in High School, right?
Mayor Araneo: My grandpa, Leonard Araneo Sr. (nickname Bingo), lived with my Aunt Tootsie in Union Beach which is where it started. My Uncle Frank Araneo was a roofer and purchased a house on Main Street, and my father Leonard Araneo decided it was time to move from Irvington to Keyport and join my Uncle Frankie to become a roofer. With that being said, my parents sold the house and packed up the family (all 8 children and our grandmother Rose). It was a big adjustment for our family, coming from Irvington to a small historic shore town not knowing anyone but our relatives from Union Beach and Keyport.
Keyport has held my family’s heart for many years and will continue to do so. My younger brothers Anthony and Stanley were about the ages of six and eight when we moved here, and I remember them walking with a shopping cart at the ages of nine and ten down to the waterfront throughout the summer months together to go crabbing. They had a shopping cart with their crab cages and a Kelly Pot to catch their bait. They would catch as many crabs as they could and sell them to people on the way home. I guess you can say they were young entrepreneurs.
TAPinto: Why did you choose to run for Mayor of Keyport?
Mayor Araneo: When asked if I would run for Mayor, I had to think about it for a little while. I am not a politician, knew very little about politics, but I know how to run companies. After careful consideration I decided to run for Mayor. I said if the town is run like a business, keeping the integrity of the town but the heart of the residents, then I feel as Mayor I can lead our team. I am passionate about keeping our council as a united front. I am passionate about the heart that our residents have for Keyport. We will not make all residents happy, but if they see that you have the same passion and feelings for the aesthetics of Keyport as they do, then they will know they have the right person in the position.
TAPinto: You've had a very successful career in operations, what led you to politics?
Mayor Araneo: I am not a politician; I am a businesswoman who happens to love her hometown. I am navigating my way around politics; operations & finance is what I do every day. I am however enjoying a new learning experience.
TAPinto: What sets you apart from others doing what you do?
Mayor Araneo: My parents could not afford to send me to college, so I had to find my niche working after high school. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. My mother (Dolores) worked in factories for a good portion of her life, sewing factories in Newark, Charles of the Ritz in Hazlet, Lily Tulip in Hazlet, and then Paul Sebastian Fragrances in Keyport. I started out with Paul Sebastian Fragrances, working in their factory, which was founded and started in Keyport. I worked for one month in the factory packing cologne for men. After one month, I requested to work in the office knowing I could make a difference. We then moved Paul Sebastian to Ocean. At that time, Alan Greco asked for me to work in the executive office. I thought it was great but was hungry for more. I asked Alan if I could sit in on some of his meetings. He embraced that and that was where I got my marketing and operations background from. Alan Greco taught me everything I needed to know about sales, marketing, purchasing, and finance. I worked for him for 15 years continuing to advance my career. When the company was sold, I left as Sr. Vice President of Operations.
I am currently with 3rd Party Logistics, Upper Saddle River as Sr. Vice President of Operations. I was brought on as a consultant and that lasted a very short time, until Lorraine Nardi, the President, requested me to come on as SRVP of Operations.
TAPinto: What is the most rewarding part of your career?
Mayor Araneo: I enjoy accomplishing goals. I have never felt like I am working, I love what I do. Operations digs into the trenches of all areas of business: HR, budgets, finance, marketing, sales, and purchasing. I find it satisfying when I set a goal and accomplish what I set out to do.
TAPinto: What is the most challenging part of what you do?
Mayor Araneo: You may set out to do something but an obstacle may prevent the day from happening the way you wanted or planned in business, so you adjust and adapt to it. I would not say it is a challenge, but I would say that it is what comes with operations.
TAPinto: Do you have a favorite quote or mantra?
Mayor Araneo: Work should not be work if you enjoy what you are doing. Make time always for family though, this is as important as work. This is something that I have always done. I have never worked in a company or a job that I did not love.
TAPinto: Who has most influenced your career or life?
Mayor Araneo: Alan Greco. He took me under his wing and not only guided me in my career but treated me as a daughter. He has passed away, but I will never forget him.
TAPinto: What do you do when you're not working?
Mayor Araneo: I am always working (laughs). I spend time with my family - my sister Dolores, my nieces, and nephews - keeping traditions alive for my nieces and nephews, cooking with them, baking, and passing down family recipes. It is more about teaching them what my grandparents taught me and what my parents taught before they passed away. I do not want our traditions to go by the wayside, plus I enjoy doing anything with them so that we spend time together.
I enjoy writing poetry. I have been writing since I am 14. Maybe one day I can publish them all. I have received a Silver Poet Award for “Sandcastle Dreams,” which happened to be my first poem ever written (no clue where it is published). I submitted it when I was in high school and continued to just write for myself.
I also enjoy my Sundays with Jimmy; we try to take a trip on Sundays. We have no set destination, just get in Rubie, my Jeep, and take a long ride. We make stops throughout the ride, small downtowns, shops, scenic roads. NJ/NY/CT/PA/DE, wherever it takes us! We meet many people on our stops and we talk and just get to know the town we are visiting.
TAPinto: Is there anything about you specifically you would like our readers to know?
Mayor Araneo: I care very much about Keyport and our residents of Keyport. I may not know how to navigate around the politics yet, being a mayor, but you can be sure that I will always do what is right for our historic town of Keyport!
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