WEST NEW YORK – Mayor Felix Roque has a beef with U.S. Rep. Albio Sires (D-8), not with U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ), he told InsiderNJ shortly after the allies of the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO) opened a campaign headquarters here without the mayor.

[PLEASE GO HERE TO READ ABOUT THE HQ OPENING]

Roque said he didn’t want to be there because of Sires, who said this over the summer in a Hudson View piece.

“I find it highly offensive for him to say that he is going to pick the next mayor of New York,” said Roque. “That’s disrespectful to the people of West New York. I find him a little repulsive to stand next to right now, when he makes a statement like that.”

So he stayed away this morning, he said.

But he backs the reelection of Menendez – wholeheartedly, he added.

“He’s a great man,” the mayor said of the incumbent U.S. Senator. “They will always trying to turn this into ‘he’s not for Bob,’ and of course it isn’t true. I love Bob. I’m all in for Bob. I went to his trial to show my support. We did a private fundraiser for him too where we raised $50,000. We may not like each other but we have to pull together for Bob.”

Roque also proclaimed his support for Hudson County Executive To DeGise.

“I invited him to our 9/11 ceremony and he was here with his lovely wife,” Roque said.

But Sires sticks in his craw.

“This is something personal with a Cuban friend,” the mayor said or Sires. “He said he’s going to pick the next mayor of West New York and that’s wrong.”

The statement, Roque insists ,motivated him to want to run hard next year for a third term.