To the Editor:
My husband is Gary La Pelusa, Sr. We have been married for almost 23 years, and we have four children. We were born and raised in Bayonne, and we have decided to raise our family here. We run a local family-owned business, celebrating our 25th year. Gary is very proud of where he comes from. He takes great pride in the fact that he graduated from Washington Community School, Marist High School, and then Seton Hall University. Gary is a parishioner at St. Vincent de Paul Church where he lectures.
Why is Gary running for Third Ward Council? Well, if anyone knows Gary like I do, then you know how much he cares about this town. He is very passionate about making sure Bayonne residents have a good quality of life. He believes Bayonne deserves the best and should not have to settle for these acts of desperate deals the mayor and his council made when they sold a portion of the MOTBY for $235,000,000. The Port Authority pays zero taxes. Gary believes the children of Bayonne deserve the best education possible. How can we accomplish this when the teachers have not had a contract for four years? He is a supporter of rent control and getting it back to the original ordinance Bayonne once had before his opponent voted to deregulate rent control.
Gary is not controlled by any job within the City of Bayonne, the state, county or the Bayonne Board of Education. Gary had a very good track record while in office. He voted against costly abatements, and at the May 2010 council meeting he voted against the fiscal year’s budget which had a $28 million hole in it. Gary had always been the voice of the people, asking the questions and demanding information when others are not so forthcoming. He believes in an open government. While a member of the Bayonne Municipal Utilities Authority, he was against the sale of the city’s water and sewer to United Water. This was just one more bad deal the City of Bayonne made.
On May 13, 2014, the election was very close. Gary did win at the machine by 283 votes, getting him 46.6 percent of the vote. We need all of you to vote. We know your schedules are very busy, but if we as a community are going to take back our town from the bully mentality that it is being ruined by, we need your vote. This should not be a town of fear. People should not be afraid to have a sign of their choice on their homes because an inspector might show up out of the blue, or their relatives go to a certain doctor and don’t want to be ridiculed. What has this town become? Why should people live in fear because of who they vote for? This is what we need to get rid of in Bayonne.
Please show your support on Tuesday, June 10. Elect Gary La Pelusa for Third Ward and vote for the entire Davis Team.
CHERIE LA PELUSA