Challenger Julio Tavarez greets supporters after his debate performance on Friday night.
PATERSON: City politics enthusiasts jamming the tables in the cafeteria in Passaic Valley Community College called this Fifth Ward square-off between Councilman Juan Torres and challenger Julio Tavarez the “can’t hold nothing back” contest.
Tavarez and Torres first butted heads four years ago when Torres’s pointed criticism of a political opponent unleashed a torrent of dismissive words from Tavarez.
Their younger-man versus older-man rivalry didn’t end then.
Having vanquished his other challenger in 2004, Torres now must deal directly with the feisty Tavarez, who thinks he’s built enough of a machine in the years since their public meeting showdown to unseat Torres - an ally but not an immediate relative - of Mayor Joey “Jose” Torres.
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