| Arvin Amatorio | |
| Birth Place: | Baler, Aurora, Philippines |
| Nationality: | Filipino-American |
| Occupation: | Attorney, politician |
| Known For: | Mayor of Bergenfield, New Jersey |
Arvin Amatorio is a Filipino-American attorney and politician, currently serving his second term as the mayor of Bergenfield, New Jersey.[1] A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a two-term councilman and council president. Amatorio is the second Filipino to serve as mayor of Bergenfield.[2]
Amatorio was born and raised in Baler, Aurora, Philippines, to public school teachers.[3] He earned a degree in economics from Colegio de San Juan de Letran and later obtained a Juris Doctor from San Sebastian College in Manila.[4] Amatorio immigrated to the United States in 2002. He is pursuing a master of liberal arts in international relations at Harvard University.[5]
While still in the Philippines, Amatorio worked at the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in 1996. He later worked at the defunct Economic Intelligence and investigation Bureau under the Department of Finance before it was deactivated.[6]
After immigrating to the United States in 2002, he was admitted to practice law in New York in 2006.
From 2006 to 2019, he practiced immigration law in Bergenfield, New Jersey.[7]
A member of the Democratic Party, Amatorio was first elected to the Bergenfield Borough Council, serving two terms as councilman and council president in 2015 and 2018.[8] He was considered as a replacement for former Assemblyman Joseph Lagana in New Jersey's 38th legislative district, but the position went to Chris Tully, Amatorio’s former colleague on the Bergenfield Council.[9]
In 2019, he was elected mayor of Bergenfield, the second mayor of Filipino descent, after Rober Rivas.[10] [11] He defeated two-time incumbent Republican Mayor Norman Schmelz in a fiercely contested race, prompting Amatorio to file a defamation lawsuit against Schmelz.[12]
Amatorio was re-elected mayor of Bergenfield in 2023, running unopposed.[13]
Amatorio met his wife, IIya Evangelista Amatorio, while working at the DILG in the Philippines in 1996.
He is a member of Lex Talionis Fraternitas,and the Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of the State of New York, Jose Rizal Lodge 1132. He is also a Chapter Commander of the Knights of Rizal, Bergenfield Chapter.