by Sabrina Carbone

Woodbridge Township Mayor John McCormac decided to join three Department of Public Works (DPW) workers to remind residents of the Township’s annual spring cleanup and bulk waste cleanup through the creation of a rap commercial called the “Woodbridge DPW Recycle Rap.” It was released to YouTube on January 29th, 2017.

Mayor McCormac said the main motivation for the rap was simply to “get the message out.” Many residents haven’t been taking advantage of their opportunity to have all their trash picked up at any time, after one quick phone call.

Mayor McCormac created the rap after his Chief of Staff began writing a poem on the topic. She wrote one line, and according to McCormac, he liked the idea and decided to finish writing it. The poem didn’t turn into a rap until the crew heard it.

“They all decided to try it in a rap video and they were afraid to ask me, but I loved the idea,” said Mayor McCormac. Soon after, they began to produce the video.

“The rap video went viral in Woodbridge,” Mayor McCormac said. The roughly two minute long rap reached over 5,000 views on YouTube and over 400 shares on Facebook. McCormac also received positive feedback, including texts and emails.

The DPW workers from the video, Kim Huszar, Robert Dominguez, and Ray Gross, have been recognized several times throughout the Township since the video’s premiere. “My daughter told me I was a celebrity after she saw someone recognize me from the video,” Dominguez said.

Township resident, Joseph Wendolowski, a 2016 Woodbridge High School graduate, enjoyed the creative approach to keeping residents informed. “I think it was a good way to inform people, while also keeping their attention with the use of funny content,” he said.

Mayor McCormac was proud of the feedback mostly because he felt it was a sign that people are paying attention to what is going on around town, which is important to him because, as he said, he is most passionate about economic development, as well as keeping the town clean.

“We brought in thousands of new jobs and cleaned up a dozen contaminated sites with new projects and we have more to do,” he said. Although the mayor does not currently have any ideas for future video projects, he is aware of the expectations in light of the Recycle Rap’s success.

“After this, it is certainly going to have to be really funny or people will be disappointed,” Mayor McCormac said.