John Castelluccio, Patch Staff

Former Patch Staff

Hometown: East Boston, MA

Birthday: June 21

Bio: John joined Patch in August 2010 as the Local Editor for Danvers Patch. As of Memorial Day 2011, he switched over to become the editor for Peabody Patch, and now he's in charge of both Peabody and Danvers. Talk about things coming full circle... Prior to joining Patch, John spent three years at the Peabody-Lynnfield Weekly News, first as a reporter then editor of the two community newspapers. He graduated from Gordon College with a bachelor's degree in communications and has lived on the North Shore for the past eight years. John initially grew up in East Boston, but moved with his family to Southern Maine for several years and then came back to Mass. for college. He lives in Beverly with his wife and two sons.

Your Beliefs

At Patch, we promise always to report the facts as objectively as possible and otherwise adhere to the principles of good journalism. However, we also acknowledge that true impartiality is impossible because human beings have beliefs. So in the spirit of simple honesty, our policy is to encourage our editors to reveal their beliefs to the extent they feel comfortable. This disclosure is not a license for you to inject your beliefs into stories or to dictate coverage according to them. In fact, the intent is the opposite: we hope that the knowledge that your beliefs are on the record will cause you to be ever mindful to write, report and edit in a fair, balanced way. And if you ever see evidence that we failed in this mission, please let us know.

Politics

How would you describe your political beliefs?

As an Evangelical Christian, my views tend to fall along conservative lines on social issues; that being said, I've had people call me liberal-minded on various subjects. Political affiliation is in the eye of the beholder, I guess. Personally, I believe in a political and social structure that meets the needs of people where they're at and inspires them to rise above their circumstances.

Are you registered with a certain party?

I take advantage of Massachusetts' leeway on political party affiliations and remain unenrolled. It's easier that way to vote for the best candidate rather than along party lines.

Religion

How religious would you consider yourself? (casual, observant, devout, non religious)

I would say "devout," but that's only a vague label. In reality what that means is that I take my faith seriously and believe it applies to all aspects of life.

Local Hot-Button Issues

What do you think are the most important issues facing the community?

In no particular ranking of importance — they are all equally crucial to the future prosperity of Peabody — there are three main issues to address in the heart of the city downtown: flooding, redevelopment and traffic.

The current city administration has been diligently working on these problems over the past decade and is now poised to implement some significant changes in the second two areas with some recent support from the City Council.

Development overall is always an issue for neighbors, and there’s still a fair amount of commercial and residential activity underway in this bustling community.

The city is also in the preliminary stages of undertaking major renovations to the Higgins Middle School — the largest middle school in the state.