NEW JERSEY COPS ■ AUGUST 2014
39
Local support for the new president…
…and some Local knowledge, too
Not that Pat Colligan needed the back-up, but as he prepared
for his first meeting as NJ State PBA President, he found his
own personal police escort. Filling the back corner of the meeting room at Pines Manor in Edison at the State PBA meeting
July 15, a throng of members from Franklin Township Local 154
stood as part guardian angels/part fraternity brothers supporting the Local 154 member who was about to be sworn in as the
new State PBA President.
“We wanted to come here and show him that we're behind him
and we appreciate everything he's done,” said Local 154 President Mark Rossman, who led a busload of members wearing
their dark blue Local attire. “We're really thankful that someone
like Pat is going to be able to lead our entire union. And we
wanted to make sure he knew it and that he knew we had his
back.”
When word that Colligan was becoming PBA President
reached Franklin Township, Rossman sent out an email to all
Local 154 members about showing up at the July 15 meeting.
Procuring transportation was easy; they turned to the guy they
always turned to, and Colligan was able to get the Suburban Bus
Company to provide the ride.
“Other than that, I had to promise lunch and a few beers afterward,” Rossman continued. “But we got the majority, and that’s
what we were hoping for so Pat could see the support that he
has.”
These are the guys who know the new president best. So what
do they know that nobody else does about the new PBA leader?
YOUR FIRST CONTINUED FROM PAGE 38
business consisted of both of them being sworn in to their new
positions.
Colligan asked his wife, Lynette, and youngest daughter,
Brenna, to join him on the dais. He noted that his oldest daughter, Kayleigh, and son, Connor, could not be there because they
were working.
If this were Washington, the Chief Justice of the Supreme
Court would have stepped up to administer the oath of office.
The closest the NJ State PBA has to a chief justice are attorneys
Robert Fagella and Paul Kleinbaum. Fagella gave Colligan the
Rossman pondered this question, searching for examples. He
said he couldn’t come up with just one, and this is what came to
his mind:
“We’ve had guys laid off. We’ve had tough administrations, and
Pat was never afraid to stand there in front of the town council,
in front of the mayor, in front of any people and speak the truth.
He was never afraid of hurting his career. He was never worried
about bettering himself. He was more concerned about taking
care of the men and women he represents.”
Several Franklin Township Police Department leaders and
superior officers joined the Local 154 entourage at the meeting.
Among these was Sergeant Darren Russo, the Local 154 State
Delegate whom Colligan succeeded when Russo was promoted.
Many of us know that Russo is the officer who was assigned to
train Colligan starting with his first day on the job. But many of
us don’t know wh