Commissioner Steven Rogers. | Commissioner Steven Rogers via Facebook Nutley commissioner plans gubernatorial announcement next week

Steve Rogers, a Nutley commissioner and law enforcement veteran, plans to announce next Friday whether he will seek the Republican nomination for governor.

Rogers said he’s “very likely” to run, and is currently scouting locations for an announcement. Rogers, 64, said he and his wife are “just putting some things in order.”


“Because this is a life-changer,” he said.

Republican Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli has already announced he’s running, while Lt. Gov. Kim GUadagno, who is widely expected to run, has said she’ll make a decision after the holidays. Joseph Rullo, an Ocean County resident who has run unsuccessfully for nominations to the House and Senate, is also running. And comedian Joe Piscopo has said he’s considering running, either for the GOP nomination or as an independent.

Rogers, an early backer of Donald Trump’s presidential campaign, is an Air Force veteran who served in the the Navy reserves, according to his bio on the township’s website. He has 38 years of law enforcement experience, serving two years on East Orange’s police force in the 1970s before spending most of his career in Nutley, where he retired as a detective lieutenant in 2011.

“The most significant asset I bring to the table is my very strong military and law enforcement background,” Rogers said.

