Roque: ‘a… General Never Goes Back to Being an Enlisted Man’
And then there were three.
Cosmo Cirillo.
Albio Sires.
And Felix Roque.
Those three men want to be mayor of West New York.
Two of them – Sires and Roque – have already occupied the local throne.
The three-way May “nonpartisan” race belies the primacy of the Hudson County Democratic Organization’s (HCDO) presence on behalf of Sires.
Allies of former Congressman Sires also point to the big leg up he will have with state Senator Brian P. Stack on his side.
But Roque beat the machine before, albeit in the form of Sires’ successor, Sal Vega.
“I’m definitely in,” said Roque, who launched his candidacy at Las Palmas last week.
“I feel positive and I feel motivated,” added the medical doctor.
“The reality is that the town is in chaos, and Albio Sires’ godson is the mayor. Albio too has been copying my ideas; for example, his thoughts about a new library.”
Roque also questions why Sires would want to go from congress back to being a local mayor.
“I was a colonel in the military, and a colonel or a general never goes back to being an enlisted man,” Roque said.
He insisted he doesn’t want to be negative.
He likes Sires.
They’re fellow Cuban Americans made good in West New York.
“He’s a fellow human being, and I wish him the best,” Roque insisted.
“He can teach me to play golf; I don’t know how to play golf,” he added devilishly.
This is going to be a competitive and interesting race. It is my observation that Albio Sires, the favorite for this race due to the support of the Hudson Democratic Organization , the name recognition that he enjoys in West New York, and the positive legacy that he left behind during his 11 year tenure as Mayor of West New York prior to his 16 years in the House of Representatives. However, Congressman Sires is not taking anything for granted as the two Board of Education members he assigned as political running mates will attest breaking the long held perception by many that there should be a line drawn between politics and education. The Congressman has both guns drawn. Commissioner Cosmo Cirillo is joined by Maggie Guzman , Angelica Jimenez and Maggie Guzman forming a solid nucleus that could receive strong support from the township of North Bergen. There have been two additions within the last 48 hours that could cement this political unit into a strong juggernaut in the ground game. This political team enjoys the vibrating pulse of the community having been present for local elections without a hiatus. The leader of the team , Cosmo Cirillo, is a strong up and comer having prepared himself with a PHD in public policy from my postgraduate Alma mater , Seton HallUniversity Hall while at the same time testing the political theories in the practical arena as a Commissioner and Town Administrator for the municipality of Guttenburg. His team can hit the ground running at full speed. The third viable candidate is Dr Felix Roque, a man coming to his own within the stern discipline of the armed forces in the reserves , Dr Roque enjoys a good fight. He sees the potential for an opening if the two front runners split their base down the middle. The leading candidates share a common base and it is going to be interesting to see how those votes will be repartitioned. Finally, Dr Roque still has 2 slots to fill. It may be interesting to see if he reaches for the past and offers a fig leaf to Sue Colacurcio who stuck by him during his last mayoral election campaign. Rumors are swirling that an additional well capitalized union may be forming to run. It is not inconceivable that some of these groups may consolidate and focus their attention on the one person they predominantly have their sights on. The best is yet to come.
Good article and elaborated.z do Mr Jimenez is a notch and prolific writer