Kennedy O’Brien was selected in 1995 to complete an unexpired council term for a councilman who had health issues. He was then elected to a full 3-year term on the Sayreville Council in 1996.O’Brien served that term and then ran for Mayor and won that 4-year position in 1999, and then won four more consecutive terms as mayor. No one else has ever won five consecutive terms as Mayor of Sayreville. In 2019 he did not seek to run for a sixth term in order to take care of his wife, who was undergoing chemo and radiation treatments. Janice O’Brien is now well and doing great, and O’Brien is seeking his sixth, unprecedented term as Mayor. Besides his service as Mayor, O’Brien has served Sayreville in many other ways:
Former Commissioner, Sayreville Housing Authority
Former Chairman, Sayreville Housing Authority
Member, Sayreville Recreation Advisory Committee
Member, Sayreville Parade of Lights
Volunteer, Sayreville Super Sports Saturday
Member, Sayreville Recycling Committee
Member, Sayreville ZoningBoard of Adjustment
Member, Sayreville Citizens Against Dredge Dumping (SCADD)
Member, Sayreville Economic & Redevelopment Agency(SERA)
Past Webelo leader, Pack 97 Cub Scouts
Member, Sayreville Lions Club Parishioner, St. Stanislaus Kostka Church
Member and 4thDegree Knight, Knights of Columbus Council 2061
Member, Holy Name Society, St. Stanislaus Kostka Church
Member,New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission
Board of Governors, Carriage House Nursing Home
Board of Governors, Raritan Bay Medical Center
Board Member, New Jersey Redevelopment Agency
Member, County Advisory Board of Adult Community Services for special needs adults.
Long time supporter & fundraiser for Middlesex County Arts Highand the EducationalServices Commission of New Jersey.
As Mayor,and in business, O’Brien is respected and known for being a gentleman, and a man of unquestionable honor and integrity. Married to Janice for 36 years, O’Brien is a father/stepfather and proud grandpa of five. Accomplishments:
Voted by the New Jersey Conference of Mayors as “Mayor of the Year” for work in law and public safety.
Oversaw the development of the former National Lead property, a$2.5 billion mixed-use project he launched in 2000, ultimately to generate $20 million in new tax revenue to the borough.
Leader in response to Superstorm Sandy, coordinating the buyout of homes for storm victims on Weber Avenue
Oversaw the development of the Neptune Regional Transmission System, generating millions of dollars in new tax revenue without the need for municipal services.
Secured the construction of Garden State Parkway ramps at Chevalier Avenue for the redevelopment of the former National Lead property. At least $60 million in state money was earmarked.
Preserved the last remaining operating farm in the 19th legislative district on Bordentown Avenue.
Oversaw the donation of 100 acres of open space from DuPont to the borough.
