In a move on Dec. 17 to try and bring together the disparate factions opposed to current administration, Commissioner Count Wiley officially unveiled a ticket called West New York United that is expected to oppose the reelection of Mayor Felix Roque in May 2015.
Mayor Roque himself announced last August that he will seek reelection, but has yet to unveil his ticket of candidates.
In West New York’s form of government, five people run for commission seats, and among themselves, they select one person to also be mayor. Each position is considered part-time and oversees a department.
Wiley’s ticket includes a number of people who were formerly his rivals, including Carlos Betancourt – who had hoped to run for mayor in an aborted recall against Roque last year.
Wiley had run as a commissioner with Roque’s successful 2011 campaign, but broke with Roque in 2012. He has been seen as Roque’s chief adversary since. He tried for a recall vote in 2013 that failed to get the necessary qualified signatures.
Betancourt had declared his intention to run for mayor several times, most recently in late summer.
Wiley and Betancourt are running with Myrli Sanchez, Hector Hernandez, and Thomas Leung in what is seen as unity opposition ticket.
Also this past week, outgoing Freeholder Jose Munoz said he will be running as a commissioner. He said an outpouring of support via letters and emails helped convince him to run, but not on the Wiley ticket.
“Mayor Roque has embarrassed us.” – Count Wiley
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Munoz said, “I am truly humbled that Count Wiley and Chuckie Bettencourt asked me to join with them in a slate of solidarity. I agree with the concept of solidarity and I greatly respect both gentlemen, but we differ on several important issues.”
Unity
“With the recent political climate in West New York, I am glad that we have formed a unified ticket that truly represents all the people in the town,” Wiley said. “Their collective backgrounds, commitment to community service, and their professionalism are second to none.”
Wiley said that the ticket not only brings together people who are all opposed to the administration, but also parts of the town that Wiley and Betancourt said have been neglected in the past such as the newly developed waterfront section of the town.
Wiley has sought to bring aboard a waterfront candidate in the past. But the recent school board election afforded a new opportunity, as it brought out voters from that part of the city.
The ticket will emphasize open and transparent government, fiscal stability, and better community programs for the residents of West New York.
Vowing to investigate
Roque has come under fire from law enforcement sources. In 2012, he was indicted in an alleged scheme to hack into an opponent’s website, but was acquitted. (His son was charged with a misdemeanor.) Then, the state released a damning report accusing Roque of meddling in school district personnel matters for political reasons.
Roque has managed to survive the criticism and even got his school board members elected in November.
Although the Roque Administration has divested itself of a number of political insiders that opponents objected to, some still remain, said Betancourt, who as a former police sergeant vowed to investigate the administration for anything unsavory or illegal.
“This ticket will truly give the taxpayers a voice in the governance of their town,” he said.
The campaign will be partly about how contracts are awarded and the perception of favoritism that critics claim the administration has engaged in. Wiley said the number of municipal and school jobs going to family members of elected officials has outraged the community where jobs are needed, and taxpayers pay high taxes.
Bread and butter issues
But the campaign will also focus on bread and butter issues such as municipal services like improving the parks, paving streets, snow plowing, and street cleaning.
Wiley noted that while the waterfront community provides a lot of its own services, the city should be providing a large police presence and other public safety related services.
“It’s our goal, as a collective unit, to restore the faith back into town hall and clear up the waste that permeates from top to bottom in town hall,” said Sanchez in a statement. She was unable to attend the event because of a minor accident at work. Her husband, a pastor spoke on her behalf.
The candidates said that the need to unseat Roque overrode any potential differences they might have had amongst themselves.
Three of the five candidates unveiled the ticket at the Hudson Avenue headquarters in what is considered very early for a May election.
Wiley said that this is designed to help get their names out before the public and allow them time to go through the town to meet with voters. He said that announcing the ticket early would also send a signal to other possible candidates that WNY United has a political machine capable of unseating the mayor and might get more supporters to join it.
“Mayor Roque has embarrassed us,” Wiley said. “His team has always been about what they can get from West New York. Our team is solely about how we can help West New York and its people.”
The campaign is also going to focus on money Wiley claims was wasted through legal fees and lawsuits settled with former employees.
The Wiley campaign is also trying to connect Roque to recent indictments including one of a West New York contractor who has been a political supporter of Roque’s. The contractor was indicted last week for allegedly bribing a fire code official in order to avoid about $9 million in fire code violations in two buildings.
This contractor set up a political action committee allegedly designed to benefit Roque, but Roque when contacted earlier this year said he had no connection to the PAC.
Sanchez, who works at the House of Worship Ministries where her husband is minister, ran unsuccessfully for the Board of Education in November.
Hernandez, Wiley said, has coached little league in West New York and served on the Housing Authority for 18 years.
Leung is a resident of the waterfront area of West New York and has focused on security for that part of the city and boosting public safety in that part of the city.
“We do not have enough police officers,” Wiley said.
Munoz is long time Roque opponent
Munoz, who was the chief witness in a hacking trial against Roque last year, lost his reelection bid as a freeholder to a Roque-supported candidate last June. He successfully supported anti-Roque candidates in the first round of school board elections last January, but largely stayed out of the November school board election.
Although rumored that he might run for mayor against Roque in 2015, his announcement to run as a commissioner came only after the Wiley campaign announcement. He said he is advocating a change of the form of government to a mayor and council form that would allow a direct public vote for mayor.
“I believe we should change the form of government so the people can elect their own mayor,” Munoz said. “Yes, this would require a referendum, but I believe the people should have the right to choose their top representative. Undoubtedly, this would definitely upset all those that want control over the hiring and placement of employees, professionals, boards and commissions. I believe in allowing the people to make this important choice. I also believe anyone would serve the residents of West New York better than our present Mayor Roque.”
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.