Faced with unified opposition for the first time in 12 years, Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner and his Township Council, under the campaign banner of the “Weehawken and You Team,” announced that they will all seek another term in office, and filed their petitions for election Thursday at the Town Clerk’s office.
Turner and Councilman James Terlizzi alone filed more than 1,000 petitions. The two will run as council-at-large candidates. Weehawken operates the council/manager form of government, where only council members are elected publicly, and that body elects a mayor from its members.
Also filing petitions to remain in office were 1st Ward Councilman Lou Ferullo, who will seek his fourth term, 2nd Ward Councilwoman Rosemary Lavagnino, seeking her second term, and 3rd Ward Councilman Robert Sosa, who is seeking his second term under this administration, but has served the township in elected office for a total of 16 years.
Currently, only Ferullo faces no opposition in the May 14 election. The opposition group, WIN (Weehawken Initiative Now) said they might still file petitions to have a 1st Ward candidate before the March 21 filing date.
The 52-year-old Turner said he was especially pleased that the entire council will seek election as a unified team. “It has been a superb council that has served the community well together over the last four years,” Turner said.
“We function well as a team. We’re strong as a team and with the help of the voters on May 14, we will remain as a team.”
Turner said he was particularly enthused to receive such support in collecting the signatures for the petitions. Each candidate needed only 25 signatures to appear on the ballot, and the at-large candidates required 90 signatures. The “Weehawken and You Team” went far beyond those numbers.
“For each one of the at-large candidates to collect 1,000 petition signatures in two weeks is overwhelming and astounding,” Turner said. “It’s a tremendous indication of the support we’ve received. I’ve never collected numbers like that before. We’ve been able to get out and see the people again, to tell them that some of the information being circulated [by opponents] was incorrect.”
Sosa, who first began his political career in 1977, when Weehawken had a commission form of government, has served under four different mayors during his tenure of public service. After serving five years as commissioner, Sosa was a councilman from 1986 to 1990 under former Mayor Stanley Iacono, and has now served the last four years in Turner’s administration.
“I’ve seen many different perspectives over the years,” said the 54-year-old Sosa, who works for Prudential Financial as a financial planner. “I’ve always had the best interest of Weehawken at heart. I know enough about the township and my neighborhood to serve the people well. I find the opposition to be healthy and I’m sure it will bring out the best in me.”
Lavagnino, a private financial consultant, said she collected more than 350 signatures in her petition drive. She said she is looking forward to serving a second term in office.
“I’m very proud of the record over the last four years,” Lavagnino said. “We want to reinforce the message that we will do nothing different than what we have over the last four years. I’m excited about what we’ve done and what we will do. I feel I’ve been successful in addressing the quality of life issues in my ward.”
Terlizzi, 65, is the retired former head of the Weehawken Department of Affordable Housing. A resident in Weehawken for the last 42 years, Terlizzi said he enjoyed his tenure on the council and looks forward to another term.
“I’m happy to have been a part of so many changes for the better of the town,” Terlizzi said. “It’s nice to have some input. I think the administration has done a good job over the last 12 years and we’ve done a good job over the last four years.”
Ferullo, also 65, is retired from the United States Trust Company, where he handled wire trade transactions. As the elder statesman of the ticket, Ferullo said he plans to continue his efforts to serve the town, which he does now on a full-time basis, but collects the part-time stipend.
“I’m very proud of the service I’ve given to the community,” Ferullo said. “I take my love for the town, especially the children of the town, very seriously. I consider it now my full-time job to serve the residents.”
Turner said he is looking forward to getting into an old-fashioned Hudson County campaign. “Nothing gets the message out like a campaign,” said Turner, who is also the township administrator in West New York. “We’re going to run on our effective record. It’s been a privilege and a pleasure to have served for the last 12 years, but we’d like to continue to serve. I’ve said all along that opposition is healthy and makes the political system active. We’re going to take nothing for granted and go full throttle.”