Vera Ames Garnes

Ward 4 Councilwoman Vera Ames Garnes with supporters, from left, Dwight Sutton, Samuel Groce and Al Barino 

PATERSON - A man on a cellphone behind the wheel of a car with New York plates turns a pair of red eyes toward the formidable-looking woman suddenly shouting at him and jabbing her index finger at him.

"Hey, home boy," bellows Councilwoman Vera Ames Garnes. "Stay off my streets!"

The man floors it, and seconds later a Paterson patrol car streaks past in another direction.

"They’re going the wrong way," mutters Ames Garnes, throwing her minivan in gear and tearing after the police. She pulls her vehicle up onto the sidewalk alongside the patrol car where it’s now idling in the middle of the road next to an unmarked car facing the opposite direction.

PATERSON - Spanish teacher Wilkin Santana, 27, hopes to unseat long-serving Ward 4 Councilwoman Vera Ames Garnes.

Wilkin Santana in the 4th Ward. 

PATERSON - Wilkin Santana turns left on Rosa Parks Boulevard and hits the gas into the heart of the 4th Ward. He sees foreclosure signs on front doors and gangs standing on sidewalks who look at him when he drives past.

"You have open drug dealing going on here," says Santana, shaking his head as he guns the engine. "You’ve got crack houses. Abandoned buildings. This is her record. I believe if you have 23 years to try to fix the neighborhood, you’ve had enough."

His reference is to Councilwoman Vera Ames Garnes. This is her neighborhood. It’s also Santana’s ward, which is why he’s running against Ames Garnes.