Former state Rep. Joe Serra remembered as 'Mr. Middletown,' a man of the people with a big heart

MIDDLETOWN — Former Democratic state Rep. Joseph Serra, who served the in state's 33rd House District for nearly 30 years, was by all accounts a man who was larger than life. 

Serra, who died on Thursday at 84, was elected to his post in 1993 and retired in 2021 after serving 14 terms. 

Family was at the top of Serra’s proverbial list, according to former House speaker Richard Balducci, his good friend.

“Nothing came before them,” Balducci said.

Serra and his wife Marie have four children and many grandchildren. The two met 60 years ago at City Hall when Marie Serra worked there over the summer, his daughter Lauriann Serra said. 

They had just celebrated their 55th wedding anniversary, she added.

Serra’s brother, former mayor and longtime city councilman Thomas Serra, died in 2019.

Marie Serra was a longtime teacher at Farm Hill Elementary School. The couple had a special relationship, Balducci added.

“They were not only husband and wife, but were a team, and best friends," he said.

Serra was also a history buff.

“His memory was incredible," Lauriann Serra said. "He really knew the fabric of Middletown."

So much so, that when people lost a member of their family, she said they would call her father, and he’d share his own recollections. 

“What drove him in politics were the people and helping them,” Lauriann Serra said, adding that includes those on the other side of the aisle.

Serra was formerly deputy director of Public Works between the late 1970s and mid-1990s. In that role, he was very attentive to residents’ needs, said local historian Bill Corvo, a former councilman who sat on the Public Works Commission.

After Corvo was elected, he said, “(Serra) said to me, ‘If you get any calls from anybody, let me know what the problem is and I’ll take care of it.'”

Serra’s sense of humor was a “genetic trait” passed down from his father Concetto "Connie" Serra, Corvo said.

John Tynan, former commissioner of the state Department of Motor Vehicles, was Serra’s good friend. In fact, Serra was Tynan’s “chauffeur” as a young man, Corvo said.

Balducci laughed, recalling the late legislator having a nickname for everyone he knew. The former speaker was “The American Dream,” he said — for reasons unknown to him.

One of Serra’s characteristics stands out for Balducci. 

“His word was his bond, which is absolutely important, not only in the political arena but also in life," he said. "If Joe gave his word on something, you could take that to the bank, so to speak."

Serra always had time for people, Balducci added.

“He would never walk by anybody without saying hello, even if he didn’t know you,” he said.

Middletown resident and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz called Serra, the son of Sicilian immigrants, “a legendary politician and public servant,” who she knew as “Mr. Middletown.”

At the start of their careers in the General Assembly, both Bysiewicz and Serra became “‘back benchers,’ and sat next to each other, taking in the view of the rough-and-tumble activity that occurs on the floor of the state House,” she said.

Democratic Town Committee Chairman Mike Fallon considered Serra a “giant in Middletown politics” and was “Middletown to his core.” 

As chairman of the Aging Committee, Fallon said, Serra would “fight for everyday people,” including passing the law that gave nursing home residents free television access. 

“Joe loved his hometown, relished public service and developed an encyclopedic knowledge of all things Middletown,” Bysiewicz said. “He knew every inch of each of our city’s diverse neighborhoods and formed friendships with thousands of residents over the course of his life.” 

Common Council President Gene Nocera, who has known Serra all his life, said he was “an incredible figure."

"He had a way of communicating unlike any others," Nocera said. "He was a man for all seasons.” 

Mayor Ben Florsheim called Serra “a true pillar of our community and a paragon of public service …. There was no greater champion for his constituents — and no politician more dedicated to duty and results over ego and noise.” 

Florsheim spoke about the Serra brothers and their big hearts.

“Like his late brother Tom, Joe has an extraordinary legacy that will live on in the form of the good works he did, the dollars and projects he returned to our community, and the thousands of acts of service and kindness big and small he did for generations of Middletown families,” he said.

Corvo said Serra had an “amazingly good sense of humor” and was a “great” storyteller.

“He had a combination there that is usually hard to find,” Corvo said.

Serra "held court” over daily morning coffee at Ford News Diner on Main Street for decades. The restaurant always had a table waiting for him, Corvo said. 

“There was a continuous roll-out of guests stopping by to have coffee and a nosh with him,” he added. “If you wanted to get in touch with him, the heck with the telephone, just go down and grab a coffee with him.”

Joseph Serra was “an exceptionally nice person,” and a big family man, Corvo said — a sentiment many others shared.

“He not only remembered what your kids’ names were, he had them coming down to have coffee on their own later on,” Corvo said.

Bysiewicz recalled how Serra would regale patrons with stories about various politicians.

"Trips to Stop & Shop for milk would often take hours due to the conversations he would have, and the constituent service he provided along the way," she said.

Lauriann Serra recalled the time she was stopped in a store by a woman who asked who she was and when the woman learned who her father was, told he he was "what a state representative should be."

“He was one of a kind,” Balducci said. “There were no two Joe Serras in the world.”