Alicia Morejon, Union City Mayor Brian Stack’s campaign manager and newly appointed Board of Education trustee, may not meet the residency requirement needed to sit on the Board of Education.
A letter sent last week to Carlos Perez, the current board president and the board member being replaced by Morejon, from Robert Osak, the Hudson County superintendent of schools, informed the board that the county had received anonymous information regarding Morejon’s residency.
“The information provided to me indicates that Ms. Morejon may not have been a resident of Union City for at least one year immediately preceding her appointment,” read the letter.
Union City Superintendent Thomas Highton forwarded a copy of this letter to the four other board members at the April 25 meeting.
“I can’t tell if [the information] is real or fake,” said Highton after the meeting. “We have to look into it.”
Osak’s letter authorized the board to further look into Morejon’s residency. Osak requested that the board’s findings be forwarded to his office by Friday, May 3. The results were not available by press time.
“Given that this information may or may not be accurate, I am requesting that the board conduct an inquiry into this matter,” said Osak in the letter.
The Board of Education’s lawyer, Herb Klitzner, would not comment on the information that was provided to him, but said that he is looking into the matter and will hold an interview with Morejon.
Morejon was appointed to replace Perez, an 18-year veteran to the board, early last month. If Morejon meets the residency requirements, Morejon will be sworn in on May 16. Perez was disappointed to be replaced, and complained two weeks ago that Stack didn’t even tell him in advance that he would not be reappointed. Stack said he thought Morejon was right for the position.
Only registered to vote two weeks ago
Besides being Stack’s campaign manager for the May municipal election, Morejon has been a member of the Urban Enterprise Zone Redevelopment Board in Union City since April 2001 and was appointed to the city’s Planning Board this year.
However, being as politically involved in Union City as she is, according to records received from the Hudson County Board of Elections, Morejon only registered to vote in the municipality on April 10.
“I was very busy,” said Morejon, when asked why she waited until April to register to vote. “There is no reason at all.”
Morejon said, during a telephone interview last week, “I have been living in Union City for more than 18 months now.” Morejon is also a sales associate for Hudson Realty located on 38th Street in Union City.
According to Morejon’s current Rental Unit Preservation Allowance Statement for 1013 Palisade Ave., obtained by the Reporter, Alicia has only been living in that address since September, 2001, five months short of the one-year requirement.
A Rental Unit Preservation Allowance Statement is given to a landlord after repairs are done on a vacant apartment, so that when a new tenant moves in, the apartment can come off rent control. In order for the landlord to obtain this statement, the apartment had to have been previously vacant and a new tenant (in this case, Morejon) has to be moving in.
According to Stack, Morejon had lived on 38th Street in Union City before moving to her current Palisade Avenue address. By press time, no proof of that address had been provided to the Reporter.
When the Reporter asked Morejon for proof of her residency for more than a year, Morejon refused to provide the information.
“I have forwarded my information to the lawyer and whoever I needed to,” said Morejon.
When asked if she had retained a lawyer specifically for this purpose, she said she had forwarded information to those who asked.
“People have to start looking at other things,” added Morejon. “[These allegations] don’t bother me at all. Whenever someone new is appointed they try to find something against that person.”
One resident living on Palisade Avenue near Morejon’s apartment, claimed that she has never seen her around that area before.
“I live across the street from her,” said the resident, who knows who Morejon is because Morejon manages her building. “I have never seen her there before.”
Anonymous sources told Reporter through phone calls and e-mails that she has a Ridgefield address. “I owned a house in Ridgefield many years ago,” said Morejon.
The Reporter has found no evidence of Morejon still living in Ridgefield. She is not registered to vote there.
What if
If Morejon is found to not meet the residency requirements, she will have to step down from the board. This finding may also affect her standing on the Planning Board and the Urban Enterprise Zone Redevelopment Board.
After the May election, Stack will also have to fill the vacancy left by Tilo Rivas, who will have to step down after being elected to the city’s Board of Commissioners.
Stack said he still has not decided who will be appointed in his place. Stack will have 30 days after the May 14 election to appoint a new member.