Jose Sandoval

PASSAIC – Yesterday’s mayoral victory by physician Alex Blanco in a 62 percent turnout election depended heavily on the endorsement of Acting Mayor/Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Passaic).

The city is split in half, with the 3rd and 2nd wards on the south side of town and 4th and 1st wards to the north.

In the heart of Schaer’s Orthodox Jewish community, Ward 3 totals show that Blanco earned 1,965 of his 3,859 total votes, according to the Passaic City Clerk’s Office.

That’s where nearly a third of the city’s total 25,543 registered voters are concentrated.

PASSAIC – Sandoval headquarters appears under siege by the campaigns of the two other Latino mayoral candidates.

First, there’s the Blanco presence two doors down from Sandoval’s front door, where a huge sign stands at the head of the block, as if to make it clear this is Blanco country.

Of course, Sandoval owns half the buildings on the block.

At the other end of the street, a gathering of red-shirted Garcia forces shake their signs at passing cars underneath an enormous Sandoval sign on the side of one of Sandoval’s houses.

PASSAIC – It’s bleak on Monday.  The sky never disgorges the rain and people stand around in the streets and talk about what’s going to go down here tomorrow.

There’s one day left in this five-man race for a seat left vacant by a man in federal prison, and most have a good idea about who’s wearing wires and where the money’s coming from, but no one knows who’s going to win.

Not if they’re telling the truth.

Campaign headquarters are almost up to full strength several hours before real estate developer Jose Sandoval, physician Alex Blanco, code enforcement inspector/School Board President Vinny Capuana, bail bondsman Carl Ellen and landlord/City Councilman Joe Garcia head to the local Baptist Church for a final collective prayer on the eve of Election Day.

PASSAIC - On the day the Herald News endorses real estate developer Jose Sandoval  in the mayor’s race, four of the five candidates sit at the front of a big room hugging highway 21 at a warehouse district debate sponsored by an alliance of community groups.

A fifth chair stands empty.

“I had other commitments and I had to make those commitments,” Councilman Joe Garcia explains later.

Garcia’s absence at the last debate forum before Tuesday’s special election fans rumors that either one of the campaigns of Dr. Alex Blanco or city super Vinny Capuana broke through and secured backing from the councilman’s supporters, thereby shutting down his campaign.

PASSAIC - On the day the Herald News endorses real estate developer Jose Sandoval  in the mayor’s race, four of the five candidates sit at the front of a big room hugging highway 21 at a warehouse district debate sponsored by an alliance of community groups.

A fifth chair stands empty.

“I had other commitments and I had to make those commitments,” Councilman Joe Garcia explains later.

Garcia’s absence at the last debate forum before Tuesday’s special election fans rumors that either one of the campaigns of Dr. Alex Blanco or city super Vinny Capuana broke through and secured backing from the councilman’s supporters, thereby shutting down his campaign.

Marcellus Jackson, who pleaded guilty to corruption charges and is awaiting sentencing, stumps for Passaic mayoral candidate Vinny Capuana last night

PASSAIC – A crowd packed the VFW Hall on Thursday night as former Councilman Marcellus Jackson, who pled guilty last year to corruption charges and is awaiting sentencing, seized a microphone and launched into a raise-the-roof speech in favor of Vinny Capuana for mayor and Barack Obama for president.

“Vinny’s done a lot for us and I’m doing all I can to help him in spite of my present troubles,” Jackson told PolitickerNJ.com.

Busted for taking $26,000 in bribes from federal agents posing as members of an insurance agency as part of Operation Broken Boards, Jackson, in the role of emcee, praised Capuana as a loyal man of the people who backed him in tough times.

PASSAIC – A crowd packed the VFW Hall on Thursday night as former Councilman Marcellus Jackson, who pled guilty last year to corruption charges and is awaiting sentencing, seized a microphone and launched into a raise-the-roof speech in favor of Vinny Capuana for mayor and Barack Obama for president.

“Vinny’s done a lot for us and I’m doing all I can to help him in spite of my present troubles,” Jackson told PolitickerNJ.com.

Busted for taking $26,000 in bribes from federal agents posing as members of an insurance agency as part of Operation Broken Boards, Jackson, in the role of emcee, praised Capuana as a loyal man of the people who backed him in tough times

School Board President Vincent Capuana: Politicker photo 

PASSAIC - On Main Street, the tower looms over everything like the past.

Vincent Capuana and Carl Ellen grew up here together and now they’re running against each other for mayor in this immigrant city dominated by an old Art Deco building you can see all the way from the high ground in Paterson, which teemed with business 40 years ago, and now stands abandoned.

The Sicilian, and the African-American from Macon, Georgia came of age in the same Washington Place neighborhood, on the same block, right next door, in Passaic.

"I’m not going to say anything bad about anyone in this race," said Ellen, now 65, sitting in his bailbondsman’s office at the corner of State and Passaic streets. "All of the men I’m running against are caballeros y carinosos."

Gentlemen and affectionate.

They are, all told, Ellen and School Board President Capuana, physician Alex Blanco, real estate developer Jose Sandoval and Councilman Joe Garcia.

Clerk Amada Curling withdraws Sandoval's name first.: Politicker photo 

PASSAIC - Moments ago, City Clerk Amada Curling drew names for ballot placement in the mayor’s race.

Jose Sandoval’s name will appear in the first position, followed by Carl Ellen, Vincent Capuana, Joe Garcia and Alex Blanco.

Seated in City Council chambers, the candidates or their surrogates watched Curling identify the candidates’ names on individual pieces of paper. She enclosed each name in a small plastic capsule. Then her assistant put the capsules in a small wooden box.

Curling then withdrew the names.

PASSAIC - Jose Sandoval, a candidate for mayor in Passaic, says he wants himself and the other four candidates in the race to debate at least three times between now and Nov. 4th.

"It's very important that we have debates so that the voters can compare our ideas and our record," he said.

No debates are scheduled at this time, although PassaicJews.com confirmed to PolitickerNJ.com that all five candidates will allow Passaic residents to ask them questions in a chat room on Sunday, September 28.

A real estate developer, Sandoval is competing with physician Alex Blanco, city supervisor Vincent Capuana, Councilman Joe Garcia, and bailbondsman Carl Ellen.