Born and raised in the North Ward of Newark, Sussex County Freeholder Sylvia Petillo moved out to Hopatcong when she and her husband decided they wanted to spend not just their summers in that North Jersey high country lake-away.

The school teacher by trade immersed herself in public service, started in on volunteering. She cut her elected office teeth on the school board, served on the council, and then fulfilled a nine-year run as mayor of her hometown before transitioning countywide.

She’s been in elected office for 22 years.

Now – from her perch in the smallest, leafiest portion of the 11th District in the midst of an intra-party scramble that ensued with a relatively short runway ahead of the June Primary, she wants a crack at the federal seat that U.S. Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-11) will leave behind at the end of his current term.

With Morris an apparent taffy pull right now between home county rivals Assemblyman Jay Webber (R-26) and Assemblyman Tony Bucco (R-25), and the Essex and Passaic portions of the 11th trying to present a king-making unite front even as their most obvious choice projects reluctance at having to turn around in 2018 after having just won a tough 2017 election, Petillo on the other side of the valley is trying to get some attention.

Money’s an issue right now, though.

Someone in the Essex and Passaic contingent apparently told her she needs to raise $1 million and then get back to them.

But there are more than murmurs in that part of the district about the GOP giving itself a better shot in the face of the female hordes that descended on Morristown last month, and a financially amped woman helicopter pilot – if it runs a woman.

“I see myself as a public servant,” Petillo told InsiderNJ. “I’m looking into this. I’m seriously considering it because of what’s going on in Washington. When people watch TV, they see Democrats talking and they see Republicans talking. Of course, there’s division in the Republican Party itself. But as a mayor, I never had the luxury to get angry or have rage. I was elected to represent the people, including those who didn’t support me.”

Will she browbeat Webber to get around him if it’s the two of them?

“If I’m not the best candidate, I’m willing to step back,” she said. “I like all of our Republican candidates, even those who have decided at this point that they’re not going to run. Look, my door as a mayor was open all the time. I feel I have the pulse of the people. My experience is I come as one who served at the local level and worked my way up.  I started out as an advocate for children, and I became the first woman mayor of Hopatcong. In that role, I unified the council and the planning board.”

Asked if she believes her gender plays a part in this pre-primary scrum, she said, “Women’s issues are front and center. Look, I’m not a feminist, but in this race in particular, we have to look at the best direction for the party. When I took office this town was a hundred years old and no woman had ever been mayor.”

Webber’s pro-life. Without exception.

“I’m pro-life,” Petillo said. “However, I would consider the 20-week ban. There are always exceptions.”

The biggest issue for Petillo at this moment is cash.

Passaic and Essex would otherwise give her a serious size-up.

But they need the enticement of an argument that puts the party in good position to go up against Democrat Mikie Sherrill, who already has more than a million in the bank.

“I’ve never tried to raise money,” the freeholder said. “I don’t have big backers behind me. I’m having some conversations.”

Google her name and a 2013 story pops up about an ethics complaint over misuse of $2,316 in town funds she spent on a mailer to 4,700 Hopatcong voters recommending the approval of a referendum to combine the zoning and planning boards.

“I shouldn’t have put my opinion on the mailer,” Petillo said.

A state board waived the $100 penalty.

“I’m from Newark. North Ward. My father owned a drug store on Orange Street and Roseville Avenue,” she said.

Did she ever meet U.S. Rep. Pete Rodino (D-10)?

“I wasn’t paying attention to that then,” she said. “I was teaching and subbing in Newark.

“What this comes down to is I’m willing to work as hard as I can,” she added. “I’m depending on people in the party, and as I said, I’ll step back if it comes to that. I would hope Republicans don’t have the primary. Let’s all get behind the best person.”