PERTH AMBOY – Former Council President Lisa Nanton, who is now the Campaign Manager for the Perth Amboy First Council Candidates opened up the rally. She gave a brief overview of the candidates (William Petrick, Joel Pabon and Milady Tejeda). She emphasized the following in her speech: “These candidates love our City, and have decades of serving our community. The City Council is crucial to the success of our City. They are the voice and the protectors of the City. They have stood up to the administration and believe in transparency in City Government. Some of their concerns are with the parking situation, and our crumbling infrastructure and overcrowding.”
The next person to speak was City Councilman Helmin Caba: “I am speaking on behalf of myself, and not as the Chair as the Perth Amboy Democratic Party.” He questioned the Mayor’s outrage now instead of in 2016 and 2017. “I fell for her tactics. Petrick’s Facebook Page had reposts views that were pro and con against all political parties. He did not comment on any of them. Petrick wanted to inform and stimulate conversation. There were over 400 postings on Petrick’s pages, but the Mayor cherry-picked a few of those postings (from Petrick’s Facebook page). Mayor Diaz, you owe an apology to Bill Petrick, his family, and also the community. I have relatives who have been victims of abuse. You have disgraced them. My offer still stands to what I have stated in previous letters. I will take a polygraph test to prove that.”
Councilman Joel Pabon talked next and said, “I am proud of what Petrick and I have accomplished. There have been no tax increase and we opposed an increase in the Mayor’s budget. We’ve fought against wasteful spending and tabled rezoning. We have your (the community’s) back and will vote for your best interest. The Mayor needs to work with the Council and not oppose us. I want to thank the former Council Members for their support.”
Council President Bill Petrick spoke next. He thanked the current and former Council for their support. “Our opponents are making dishonest attacks.” He then commented about a member of Governor Phil Murphy’s staff (who made recent racist and insulting comments aimed at religious and other organizations). That person is a member of LUPE PAC and neither our Mayor or anyone from that LUPE PAC commented about those insulting comments. Mudslinging will not fix our problems. We need to discuss issues affecting our daily lives. Our opponents have no community service. I started serving at the age of 18. Our combined team has over 80 years of community service. Experience and commitment is what is needed.”
Milady Tejeda came up to speak, “I am the current Vice President of the Board of Education and am on my third term. I came to Perth Amboy as a teenager and spoke no English. I graduated college with a bachelor’s degree. I want the same opportunity for all students. We have a lot of overdevelopment, high taxes, and a poor infrastructure. I want to be a liaison between the City and the Board of Education.”
At the end, Lisa Nanton summed it up. “We don’t need people who are puppets for the Mayor. We need honest people and people who are there as a self-sacrifice and not for self interest.”
(LtoR) Board of Education President Ken Puccio, Board of Ed Candidate Stephanie Márquez-Villafañe, Former Councilwoman Nancy Munez (First Latina Council Person in the State of NJ), Former Councilwoman Geri Bolanowski, Former Councilman Robert Sottilaro, Council Candidate and Board of Education VP Milady Tejeda, Council President William Petrick, Former Councilwoman Lisa Nanton, Councilman Joel Pabon, Councilman Fernando Irizarry, Councilman Helmin Caba, Former Councilman Ken Balut, Councilman Fernando Gonzalez *Photo by Carolyn Maxwell
October 17, 2018 Press Conference at Bayview Park
Full Text Follows
Opening statement by Former City Council President Lisa Nanton
PERTH AMBOY – Good afternoon and thank you for coming.
I am Lisa Nanton, campaign manager for PERTH AMBOY FIRST for City Council, and a former Perth Amboy City Council President.
Let me introduce the council and former council members here with us this afternoon.
Current council members Helmin Caba, Fernando Gonzalez, Council President Wm. Petrick, Fernando Irizarry and Joel Pabon. Joining us are former council members Ken Balut, Geri Bolanowski, Nancy Muniz, Robert Sottilaro and Dave Szilagyi and
Board of Education Vice President Milady Tejeda, President Ken Puccio, Anton Massopust and Stephanie Marquez-Villafane.
We have all lived in Perth Amboy for years. Most of us were born here, have raised our families here, and while working for a living, have donated our “free” time to serving Perth Amboy: through our churches, PTO’s ,band parents, firefighters, coaches, committee people, community organizations, Zoning Board, Planning Board, Board of Education and City Council. Our service began years ago. We have been on opposite sides of issues. But we always respected each other and are capable of disagreeing without being disagreeable.
The common denominator that unites us today is the LOVE of our city. The decades of hours spent serving our residents is the evidence.
And that passion is why we have all come together to endorse Joel Pabon, Bill Petrick, and Milady Tejeda for city council—the PERTH AMBOY FIRST team.
We are standing together in support of PERTH AMBOY FIRST because we know how crucial the city council is to the success of this city and the well-being of its residents—and how important it is that the right people occupy those three open council seats.
We know better than anyone that the city council is the voice of the people—the protector of the people. We know that the current city council—which includes
Joel Pabon and Bill Petrick—has stood up for the people of Perth Amboy against an administration of self interests.
In the past year alone Joel Pabon and Bill Petrick, as a part of this independent city council, stopped the mayor from raising municipal property taxes. They listened to residents of this neighborhood and stopped rezoning. They have fought to strengthen anti-nepotism laws. They have tried to eliminate some of the mayor’s reckless expenditures. They have pushed relentlessly for transparency in city government, so that the people know how their tax money is spent.
Looking out for residents—having solutions for traffic congestion and the parking debacle, holding the line on taxes, dealing with crumbling infrastructure, pushing for adequate parks and sports programs for kids, ensuring safe drinking water, supporting smart development that doesn’t increase congestion—that is what this independent council has done and will continue to do.
Councilman Helmin Caba reiterated some of the statement he made in page 7 of the 10/3/18 Issue of the Amboy Guardian.
Joel Pabon
Good afternoon, everyone. My name is Joel Pabon. I am a two-term member of the Perth Amboy City Council, and I’m running for re-election along with Councilman Bill Petrick and board of education member, Milady Tejeda.
Because two of us are incumbent council members, residents have a right to ask, “What have you done for us while in office?” I can stand here and honestly say that I am very proud of what Bill Petrick and I have accomplished as members of this city council.
We have stood up time and again for the residents of Perth Amboy—even when we had to oppose the administration. There will be no municipal tax increase this year because we stood up for residents and opposed the increase in the mayor’s budget. Time and again we have gone to bat for more parks and activities for our kids. We have fought against nepotism and wasteful spending.
The people in this neighborhood will remember how we on the city council stood with them when the mayor wanted to rezone parts of this area—even over the objections of most residents. We heard you. We tabled the rezoning—and as long as we keep a majority of votes on the council, that rezoning will not go through.
The choice is yours. Choose candidates who have already proven that they have your back and will act in your best interest. Or choose candidates whose only selling point seems to be that they have the support of the mayor—and when elected will be controlled by her. But a power grab by the mayor is not the way to solve the city’s problems. The mayor needs to work with the council, not try to dominate it.
Finally, I want to express my thanks to all of my present and former council colleagues for coming out to support the Perth Amboy First team. That support means a lot to us. It shows the people of Perth Amboy that you—those who know best what it takes to succeed on the city council—believe that Bill, Milady, and myself are the best people for the job.
And thanks to the people of Perth Amboy. Remember to vote Line O—Pabon, Petrick, and Tejeda—on Nov. 6.
Bill Petrick
Good afternoon. My name is Bill Petrick, and I am running for my third term as a member of the Perth Amboy City Council. I want to thank all of my current colleagues on the council, as well as the former council members who have come out to support us today.
This has been a difficult campaign, because our opponents have decided that the way to win this election is to engage in personal attacks—attacks that have been exposed as calculated and dishonest. So I want to move away from that, because mud-slinging is not going to fix the city’s crumbling streets. It’s not going to deal with our lack of parking and congestion. It’s not going to stabilize our taxes or provide jobs. What the people of Perth Amboy need is a discussion of the issues that affect their lives, not political warfare that divides the community.
Yet I’m not surprised that our opponents are not discussing the issues. They have no experience in city government and no demonstrated commitment to service in this community. I answered the call for more than 40 years as a volunteer firefighter in Perth Amboy. Anyone who has been involved in youth sports in Perth Amboy knows Joel Pabon, who coached our kids for more than 20 years as a volunteer, and is past president of the Perth Amboy Youth League. Milady Tejeda has been very active on the parish council of Our Lady of Fatima, and she is secretary of the United Dominicans of Perth Amboy. Again, proven voluntary service to the community.
It’s not enough to just show up at campaign events, shake hands, and pose for pictures—as our opponents have done. We need leaders with experience and commitment to solve Perth Amboy’s problems. I hope the voters of Perth Amboy will choose the experience and commitment demonstrated over many years by Joel Pabon, Milady Tejeda, and myself. On Nov. 6, I ask you to Vote Line O, the Perth Amboy First team. Thank you!
Milady Tejeda
Greetings to everyone—and thank you to all of the present and former members of the city council who are here to support Bill Petrick, Joel Pabon and myself. For those of you who don’t already know me, my name is Milady Tejeda. I am currently vice-president of the Perth Amboy Board of Education.
Some of you might wonder why I am made the decision to leave the board of education to run for a seat on the city council. I’m in my third term on the board of education, and education has always been a primary focus of my work in this community. I came to Perth Amboy as an immigrant in my teens, speaking no English. But education was always important in my family. I worked hard in school, and when I graduated from Perth Amboy High School, I went on to attend college where I earned a bachelor’s degree that started me on a very fulfilling career. I want that same opportunity for my children and for every child who attends school in Perth Amboy.
Still, my concerns for the future of this city go well beyond our schools. As a member of the city council I can expand my reach, using both my experience and my knowledge of this community to help solve some of our most pressing problems—such as overdevelopment, high property taxes, and crumbling infrastructure.
I also want to serve as a bridge between the city government and the board of education. The administration has taken a very adversarial approach to relations with the board. That is not helpful to our children. I hope that with a seat on the city council, I can help bring about a closer working relationship between the city government and the board of education, which can only benefit our children.
So again, we appreciate everyone who has come here today—and I want to thank the residents of Perth Amboy for supporting our team!
Closing statement by Lisa Nanton
We know what a disaster it would be for Perth Amboy to vote in three inexperienced people who are puppets for a mayor who has proven that she will do just about anything. no matter how ruthless to maintain power. They have remained silent in its wake. We need honest people like Joel Pabon, Bill Petrick, and Milady Tejada, who have years of experience serving Perth Amboy’s government and the community. Our records are one of self-sacrifice – not self interest. We need members of the city council that will always put PERTH AMBOY FIRST.
Pabon, Petrick, Tejeda For Council – Line O
Puccio, Massopust, Marquez-Villafane for Bd of Ed- Line L
Nov. 6
