By Eric San Juan
The Ocean County Cultural & Heritage Commission has named Sen. Carmen F. Amato Jr. (R-9) the first recipient of the Lila W. Thompson Legislative Recognition Award. The honor was presented in June at the annual Salute to Ocean County celebration.
The award was created to recognize members of the New Jersey Legislature who represent Ocean County and who have shown exceptional dedication to public service, the arts and the preservation of heritage.
It is named in memory of Lila W. Thompson (1875–1933), the first woman to serve Ocean County in the New Jersey Legislature. She did so from 1924 to 1925. A noted advocate for her community and opponent of hate, Thompson’s legacy is also memorialized by the section of Route 9 between Lakewood and Manalapan that bears her name.
Amato was elected to the state Senate in November 2024 and currently sits on three major committees: Budget and Appropriations, Community and Urban Affairs, and Higher Education. Before joining the Legislature, he held several municipal positions in Berkeley Township, including school board member, councilman and mayor from 2012 to 2023.
In fact, Amato’s career as a local elected official goes back more than 25 years.
After an attempt to run for town council in 1999, he began his political career on the Berkeley Township Board of Education in 2000, and later won a seat on the Central Regional Board of Education. In 2003, when then-Assemblyman Jeffrey W. Moran was set to become Ocean County Surrogate, Amato was among those who put himself forward for consideration to fill the seat.
The seat ultimately went to Assemblyman Rumpf.
In 2005, he defeated former councilman Peter J. Mustardo to join the town council. Then, in 2012, he ran for mayor and won, a position he has held since.
In addition to his history in office, Amato has worked with the Ocean County Board of Health and the Ocean County Utilities Authority.
During his tenure in local government, Amato focused on modernizing infrastructure, including improvements to parks and recreational spaces, and played a leading role in the recovery of Berkeley Township’s waterfront following Superstorm Sandy. He was also mayor during a time when the town focused on preserving open space, and often advocated for veterans and seniors.
Since being elected to a state-level position, Amato now represents most of the Ocean County shore region from Bay Head in the north through Long Beach Island in the south, and portions of the county from Manchester and Berkeley Townships in the north to Tuckerton and Little Egg in the south.
A Bayville native, Amato is a parishioner at St. Barnabas Roman Catholic Church and volunteers with local organizations such as Little League, the historical society, the Italian American Heritage group and INSPIRE (The People's Pantry).
The Commission highlighted the importance of legislators like Amato in securing public funding that sustains arts and cultural initiatives across Ocean County. These include grants from the New Jersey Historical Commission, the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, the New Jersey Division of Travel and Tourism and others, all supported by revenue from the state’s hotel and motel occupancy fee. The Ocean County Board of Commissioners administers those funds locally, providing essential support to the nonprofit sector.
For more on the Ocean County Cultural & Heritage Commission, visit https://co.ocean.nj.us/oc/ch/