(Press Release) PERTH AMBOY – After failing for 12 ½ years, Mayor Wilda Diaz and the Perth Amboy City Council members confirmed the appointment of 5 members to fill the defunct Rent Leveling Board. Weeks after bringing this issue to light, tax-cutting attorney Joseph B. Vas successfully got Mayor Wilda Diaz to do in weeks what the City Council members could not do in more than 12 ½ years.

In the heat of a crowded election campaign, in which the incumbent and three of the five members of the governing body are candidates for Mayor, Vas applied pressure after City Hall and Councilmembers authorized at least one landlord to double rents and turned a blind eye to countless others.

“It is clear the Mayor and the City Council see their collective failure to protect the rights of tenants as a political liability and are now motivated to correct their mistake. Elected officials should be inspired to do what’s right, not what is simply politically expedient,” exclaimed an exuberant Vas.

This action came nearly a year after the City Attorney, Peter King, declared the Rent Control ordinance “invalid” because Diaz and the Council failed to appoint anyone to the panel during her entire 12-years in power.

Without a functioning Rent Leveling Board, there was no way to enforce the ordinance, hear appeals or grant waivers, thus depriving landlords and tenants of due process. As such, the Council Members in March unanimously voted to allow tenants at the 265 New Brunswick Avenue building to suffer a doubling of their rents. Vas has stated he intends to file an appeal of this recent action by the Mayor and City Council to the newly appointed panel. The board requires landlords to justify hardship rent increases above 5%.

“Civic action and community participation can make a significant difference,” commented Vas. “Thousands of hard working residents are struggling in the midst of the pandemic and could literally be out in the street at the hands of greedy landlords without government intervention. The Mayor and Council betrayed the very people who need the most help,” Vas added.

Vas identified the issue which adversely impacts nearly 70% of city residents who are renters in the Bay City.

In response, at Monday’s Caucus meeting, Diaz notified Council Members she had finally appointed five new members to the otherwise vacant Rent Leveling Board, pursuant to an ordinance enacted in 1983, that were confirmed at last night’s City Council meeting by all 5 sitting Council Members.

Earlier this week, Diaz sent police and firefighters into the streets at taxpayer expense to distribute false and politically charged information regarding renter’s rights.

Vas is the leading contender in the mayoral election, which has boiled down to a two-way race between Diaz and the 41-year-old attorney.

Although Councilmen Helmin Caba, Joel Pabon Sr., and Fernando Irizarry are also running, only Vas has a chance to stop Diaz on the first ballot and avoid a costly runoff election, which would save taxpayers $100,000 according to the Mayor.

That’s because Vas started the race with greater name recognition and the council members have each been identified in prior campaigns as part of the Diaz Team, so any of them would probably mean more of the same kind of leadership that has resulted in myriad problems.

Vas has also better managed to address those problems as issues in the campaign.

Vas has helped nearly 1,000 local homeowners reduce their property taxes by challenging unfair assessments and he has unparalleled qualifications including a law license, an MBA plus work experience in public finance.