Dear Editor:
During his short tenure as Councilman-At-Large, Rolando Lavarro already has an impressive list of accomplishments. This should come as no surprise, as Rolando has made a deep commitment to serving his community for many years. With his work ethic, he leads by example and does so with integrity and utmost respect for those he serves. For these reasons, I will proudly cast my vote to re-elect Councilman Lavarro on May 14th. Elected to office on November 2011, Councilman-At-Large Lavarro has wasted no time being a catalyst for positive change for Jersey City. Councilman Lavarro has pressed hard to make police foot patrols finally happen. This is so despite repeated efforts by the Mayor telling the public such measures are unfeasible. Additionally, Councilman Lavarro also demanded an independent operational study to determine the most efficient way to deploy JCPD personnel. Again, the current mayor provided pushback for this sensible proposal. This is so despite the support of other progressive City Councilmembers, including current Mayoral candidate, Steven Fulop. In addition to fighting crime, Councilman Lavarro has extended his public safety efforts in other areas. He was the only member of the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency Board to vote no to an easement sought by Spectra to build a natural-gas pipeline underneath property owned by a city agency. Lavarro put residents’ safety ahead of monetary influence by a big corporation. As the son of two highly educated immigrants and as a Grants Director for New Jersey City University , Councilman Lavarro has a deep understanding and concern for access to quality education, and particularly so for new comers and the less privileged. Most recently, he introduced a resolution pressing state officials to pass two pieces of legislation that would allow “dreamers” to qualify for in-state tuition and access to state financial aid at New Jersey’s public learning institutions. Most importantly, Rolando Lavarro believes in the American dream. For many years, with his active community involvement in non-profit organizations such as the Rotary Club, NAACP, West side Community Alliance, and the Knights of Rizal, among others, he has lent a helping hand to many others so they, too, may pursue the American dream. On May 14th, I hope you will cast your vote for Rolando Lavarro to show your support for one of Jersey City’s hardest working public servants.
Respectfully,
Peter O’Reilly