Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis

	Mayor Acropolis was born in Englewood on September 9, 1957. He moved to Brick Township in 1958 when he was a year old and graduated from Brick Township High School in 1975. Mayor Acropolis’ mother and stepfather both worked for Brick Township, Mary Cotten as Deputy
Court Clerk and Ed Cotten for the Public Works Department. As a child he remembers his mother being involved in numerous campaigns and thinks that is where he first learned to appreciate public service and politics

He then joined the United States Air Force in 1976 and was stationed at Loring Air Force Base with the 42nd Security Police Squadron in Limestone, Maine. While stationed at Loring AFB, he attended the University of Maine with a criminal justice focus. He married his high school sweetheart, Wendy Auriemma and started a family. Both of his first two children, Cindy and Stephen Jr. were born in Presque Isle, Maine. In 1979, he became an Air Force recruiter and returned to New Jersey to the Dover Recruiting Station in Morris County. Here he was chosen to recruit pilots and navigators for the USAF. While living in Dover, Mr. and Mrs. Acropolis had their third child, Robert, at Morristown Hospital. Staff Sergeant Acropolis was the youngest recruiter in the Northeast Recruiting Squadron headquartered out of Newburg, New York and after serving for four years in the recruiting area was chosen to attend Air Traffic Controller School.

With the training taking place in Biloxi, Mississippi, Mrs. Acropolis and the three children stayed in New Jersey, while Sergeant Acropolis went to Biloxi to find housing for the family. They arrived a month later and lived there until Sergeant Acropolis finished training. They were then assigned to Pease Air Force Base in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. While an air traffic controller at Pease AFB, Sergeant Acropolis had the honor of working the tower on numerous occasions when then, Vice President George Bush landed at Pease on his way to his summerhouse in Kennebunkport, Maine. Also while at Pease, they had their fourth child, Daniel and lived there until Mr. Acropolis’s honorable discharge in 1983. While in the Air Force, Sergeant Acropolis received the Marksmanship Ribbon, the Good conduct ribbon with Oak Leaf Cluster as well as the Meritorious Service Ribbon. Mr. Acropolis, after being discharged moved back to Brick Township where his political career began. Mr. Acropolis’ start in public service began when he served on the Brick Township Board of Adjustment. After serving on the board Mr. Acropolis left to pursue his new business venture knowing he would return to politics in the future.

In 1988, Mr. and Mrs. Acropolis’ fifth child, Amy was born at Paul Kimball Hospital in Lakewood and in 1994, Mr. Acropolis was elected to his first term as Councilman in Brick Township. During his first four years in office the Councilman served on the Business and Finance Committee and presided over a no tax increase budget for those four years. After losing his re-election bid in 1997, the voters of Brick Township brought him back in 2000 to become the senior member of the Brick Township Council. While on the governing body, Councilman Acropolis was a leader in open space and preservation with the council preserving over 1,100 acres of undeveloped land. He also served as the chairman of the Public Safety Committee and has seen the police force grow to over 100 officers with Brick Township being named one of the safest cities in the United States. In addition, while on the Recreation Committee he saw the opening of Bay Front Park on the strip as well as being involved in many other recreational and cultural activities for Brick residents.

During the last 20 years, Mr. Acropolis has been very involved in the Brick Township community serving as the President of one of the oldest hockey clubs in New Jersey, the Brick Hockey Club. He served as a volunteer coach at a number of different levels in the Club as well. The Mayor also served as a coach for the Brick National Little League; coach in the Brick In-Line Hockey League. In addition to athletic groups, Mayor Acropolis found time to be a member of the Brick Township Kiwanis Club serving as it’s President in 86-87; he served as an Elder in the Brick Presbyterian Church; Co-Chaired the Expansion Committee; served on the Logistics Committee of the church; is a member of the PTA in the school system; served as a committee member for the Brick Township Republican Club; served on the Ocean County Republican Screening Committee and a number of other committees in town.