WEST NEW YORK — With both his mother and father hospitalized Tuesday night and near death, Mayor Felix Roque led his ticket to a decisive victory in the May 12 municipal elections.
Rogue’s ticket of four commissioners, including Cosmo Cirillo, Gabriel Rodriguez, Susan Colacurcio, and Margarita Guzman. defeated two opposing tickets plus several independents, securing for Roque his second four year term in office.
Roque also said that he would file charges against his main opponent, Commissioner Count Wiley, who he alleged assaulted Roque’s son Joseph in an altercation over signs early on election day. But Wiley denied the charge in what has been a very heated election.
Roque said a police report has been filed. Roque said his son complained of neck pain and would be undergoing an MRI on Wednesday.
Roque said he had promised to share the victory with his mother, and was scheduled to go to the hospital shortly after celebrations at his campaign headquarters on Palisades Avenue.
“We nearly lost my mother last night,” he said. “She wanted to share the victory with me.”
Roque’s father was also hospitalized and very ill.
Heated race; Roque survived federal indictment
Roque’s win came after surviving an FBI investigation and indictment in 2012 (he was acquitted of hacking into a political opponent’s web site after he stood trial. However, his son was convicted of a misdemeanor).
Roque’s chief rival and one-time ally, Wiley, got 2,144 votes.
In West New York’s form of government, voters pick five part-time commissioners, who choose the mayor from among themselves, although it’s generally known who will be mayor when they run.
The race saw many accusations between Roque and Wiley, and both have been linked to investigations.
In 2012, Roque withstood a federal trial. However, in 2013, the state of New Jersey released a damning report accusing Roque of allegedly meddling in school district personnel matters for political reasons. The state has not brought charges.
At a commissioners’ meeting in 2012, the Roque-controlled board majority passed a resolution censuring Count Wiley for conduct unbecoming of an elected official. Wiley had admitted the same month that some town employees from neighboring North Bergen had painted his office the previous year. Wiley’s father, James Wiley, had earlier in 2012 resigned as the head of public works in North Bergen, and pleaded guilty to state charges of having North Bergen employees do personal chores at his home while being paid by the township.
Regarding the painting of Count Wiley’s office, Wiley said this was part of a “shared services” agreement with the other township.
All municipal races in West New York are non partisan, and the majority of voters in Hudson County are Democrats.
Here are the vote totals as of Tuesday night from the county board of elections. Absentee and provisional ballots may slightly change the totals:
Vote Count Percent
Juan ESPINAL 1A 208 0.79%
Jeanne M. STEFONETTI 2A 163 0.62%
Jose A. ROSARIO 1B 103 0.39%
Felix E. ROQUE 1C 2,871 10.96%
Susan M. COLACURCIO 2C 2,734 10.43%
Gabriel RODRIGUEZ 3C 2,796 10.67%
Margarita GUZMAN 4C 2,589 9.88%
Cosmo A. CIRILLO 5C 2,755 10.51%
Count J. WILEY 1D 2,144 8.18%
Carlos BETANCOURT 2D 1,890 7.21%
Myrli T. SANCHEZ 3D 1,855 7.08%
Thomas M. LEUNG 4D 1,928 7.36%
Hector A. HERNANDEZ 5D 1,887 7.20%
Michael CORSO 1E 348 1.33%
Anthony M. DeFINO 2E 613 2.34%
Gabriela B. REYNOSO 3E 347 1.32%
Armando M. GALIS-MENENDEZ 4E 346 1.32%
Maria MELENDEZ 5E 363 1.39%
Patrick R. CULLEN, Jr. 1F 245 0.94%
Personal Choice 16 0.06%
Total 26,201 100.00%