Sen. Joseph M. Kyrillos Jr.: A Portfolio Life

Joe Kyrillos, 57, was calm, cool and collected for his so-called exit interview with The Two River Times the day after he walked out of the New Jersey Senate on Jan. 9 after 30 years of public service.

“Why am I leaving? I just felt it had been enough time. It was more than half my life,” he said during an interview in his Middletown office suite on the second floor of the “gold building” (its windows reflect a golden color) on the south side of Route 35 just before crossing into Red Bank, where he plans to relocate soon.

At 27, Kyrillos, a Republican, was elected to the State Assembly, making him among the youngest ever to hold that office. After serving two terms he ran for the Senate in 1992 and was re-elected eight times.

“Some kids catch the bug for football or sports or the theater or whatever,” he said. “Public service was instilled in me at an early age.”

Read more of this Two River Times article here.