Alex Blanco

The Dominican American National Roundtable, a Washington-DC based organization, which tracks Dominican American history, culture and trends, has officially declared Dr. Alex Blanco of Passaic as the first ever Dominican mayor in U.S. history.

The organizaton cites only one other time (in 2001) when a Dominican American has acted in a mayoral capacity (from Lawrence, MA). In that case, the person was an acting mayor, not an elected mayor. 

Dominicans and allies celebrated Dr. Alex Blanco’s victory in the Passaic mayoral race last week as a first in the annals of American politics. As far as they know, he’s the first Dominican elected mayor in the United States.

“There’s an assemblyman in New York, but concerning mayors, none,” said Blanco, a product of the Passaic public school system who earned college and medical degrees locally and works in the city as a podiatrist.

“I was shocked when I found out I was the first,” added the mayor-elect, who figures to be sworn into office before the end of November.

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 - Physician Alex Blanco won the mayor's contest here tonight, defeating runner-up Vincent Capuana by 400 votes.

PASSAIC - Physician Alex Blanco leads the pack here in the mayors' race with five districts left to be counted.

In a five-man race, School Board President Vincent Capuana is currently in second place, trailing Blanco by 300 votes.

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 – Opposing forces converge on School No. 3 in the Third Ward, the local political base of Acting Mayor/Assemblyman Gary Schaer.

Schaer and his ally, mayoral candidate Dr. Alex Blanco, greet people in front of the school as they head in to vote.

A car door slams and a slender man jumps the curb.

It’s School Board President Vincent Capuana, one of Blanco’s rivals in the mayors’ contest.

“We’ve been here in Gary’s base since this morning,” confides one of Capuana’s backers. “He moves, we move.”

PASSAIC – Among Dr. Alex Blanco’s street presence in the city on Election Day walks Paterson City At Large Councilman Rigo Rodriguez, who’s excited about his fellow Dominican American and his chances here today in the special mayoral contest.

“He’s a good candidate, and I believe he would be the right person to fight corruption in City Hall, which has been very bad here in Passaic,” said Rodriguez.

The councilman had success in his hometown in the last municipal election, as he sent an ally head-to-head with Mayor Jose “Joey” Torres’s candidate, Councilman Juan Torres.

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.