Council Hopefuls Target Tax Bill
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
By ALEXANDER MacINNES
HERALD NEWS
PATERSON -- Both candidates in the running for the 6th Ward
City Council seat said Thomas Rooney Jr., the man they hope to
replace, is an institution whose shoes cannot be filled.
For the last 27 years, Rooney has represented the area that
covers South Paterson, Lakeview and People's Park, but he
announced earlier this month he would not seek re-election,
ending a public service career that lasted 40 years.
Board of Education President Andre Sayegh and Ilia Villanueva,
director of a local nonprofit, will face off in May for a shot at
replacing Rooney on the City Council. Villanueva will try for a
third time, having lost to Rooney in 2001 and 2004. For Sayegh,
who was recently hired as executive director for the Paterson
Alliance, it's his first run for a city office.
Whoever wins will represent one of the more stable areas in
Paterson, one where median household income outstrips the
city's average, but where residents continue to complain of
quality of life issues, including litter, slow police response and
noise complaints. Residents say the taxes they pay should provide
cleaner and safer streets.
Sayegh and Villanueva say their first priority is helping residents
who saw increases in their assessments from the recent
revaluation and subsequent third-quarter tax bills. Sayegh said he
will encourage residents to file tax appeals next April, while
Villanueva struck a harder line on Certified Valuations, the
Newark company that prepared the revaluation.
"I would like to see that company do another assessment,"
Villanueva said Tuesday.
Sayegh, who will step down as chief of staff for Sen. John
Girgenti, D-Hawthorne, said his platform during the campaign
will be bringing neighbors together to help maintain their
neighborhoods and parks. A founding member of the 6th Ward
Neighborhood Association, Sayegh said there's power in numbers.
Sayegh, 33, graduated from Seton Hall University in 1997 and
received a master's in public police administration from Columbia
University. He has served on the Paterson Board of Education for
four years and has lived in the 6th Ward his entire life.
"One reason we started the neighborhood association is we have
very serious concerns about properties that are unkempt,
undesirable and a poor reflection of the ward," Sayegh said.
"Property values diminish and, more importantly, morale drops.
... All the stakeholders in the community must take ownership of
the parks, take ownership of the schools, and frequent
restaurants in the neighborhoods. The people are the answer, and
the answers are here."
Specifically, Sayegh, a graduate of DePaul Catholic High School
in Wayne, said he receives complaints from residents about the
lack of recreational activities for their children.
But when he sees the number of participants, he said he realizes
parents are not well enough informed on the various options.
Villanueva, 49, attended the Inter-American University in Puerto
Rico and earned a diploma in accounting and business from the
Essex College of Business. She has lived in the 6th Ward for 16
years.
Villanueva, who says her family was one of the first Hispanic
families to move into the East 19th Street and 21st Avenue
neighborhood, said she is concerned with troubling graffiti in the
area.
"Trenton Avenue, I saw the tagging of the gangs," said
Villanueva, the director of CASA Inc., a social service agency. "I
would not like to see gang activity in the 6th Ward, and I've
already seen tagging."
As for police presence, Sayegh said there is room for
improvement, and if elected, he hopes to open a dialogue with the
Paterson Police Department.
"(I understand) that police response time should improve and it
should be a certain standard, that people who are paying high
property taxes, the services should be there," he said.
Reach Alexander MacInnes at 973-569-7166 or
macinnes@northjersey.com.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
By ALEXANDER MacINNES
HERALD NEWS
PATERSON -- Both candidates in the running for the 6th Ward
City Council seat said Thomas Rooney Jr., the man they hope to
replace, is an institution whose shoes cannot be filled.
For the last 27 years, Rooney has represented the area that
covers South Paterson, Lakeview and People's Park, but he
announced earlier this month he would not seek re-election,
ending a public service career that lasted 40 years.
Board of Education President Andre Sayegh and Ilia Villanueva,
director of a local nonprofit, will face off in May for a shot at
replacing Rooney on the City Council. Villanueva will try for a
third time, having lost to Rooney in 2001 and 2004. For Sayegh,
who was recently hired as executive director for the Paterson
Alliance, it's his first run for a city office.
Whoever wins will represent one of the more stable areas in
Paterson, one where median household income outstrips the
city's average, but where residents continue to complain of
quality of life issues, including litter, slow police response and
noise complaints. Residents say the taxes they pay should provide
cleaner and safer streets.
Sayegh and Villanueva say their first priority is helping residents
who saw increases in their assessments from the recent
revaluation and subsequent third-quarter tax bills. Sayegh said he
will encourage residents to file tax appeals next April, while
Villanueva struck a harder line on Certified Valuations, the
Newark company that prepared the revaluation.
"I would like to see that company do another assessment,"
Villanueva said Tuesday.
Sayegh, who will step down as chief of staff for Sen. John
Girgenti, D-Hawthorne, said his platform during the campaign
will be bringing neighbors together to help maintain their
neighborhoods and parks. A founding member of the 6th Ward
Neighborhood Association, Sayegh said there's power in numbers.
Sayegh, 33, graduated from Seton Hall University in 1997 and
received a master's in public police administration from Columbia
University. He has served on the Paterson Board of Education for
four years and has lived in the 6th Ward his entire life.
"One reason we started the neighborhood association is we have
very serious concerns about properties that are unkempt,
undesirable and a poor reflection of the ward," Sayegh said.
"Property values diminish and, more importantly, morale drops.
... All the stakeholders in the community must take ownership of
the parks, take ownership of the schools, and frequent
restaurants in the neighborhoods. The people are the answer, and
the answers are here."
Specifically, Sayegh, a graduate of DePaul Catholic High School
in Wayne, said he receives complaints from residents about the
lack of recreational activities for their children.
But when he sees the number of participants, he said he realizes
parents are not well enough informed on the various options.
Villanueva, 49, attended the Inter-American University in Puerto
Rico and earned a diploma in accounting and business from the
Essex College of Business. She has lived in the 6th Ward for 16
years.
Villanueva, who says her family was one of the first Hispanic
families to move into the East 19th Street and 21st Avenue
neighborhood, said she is concerned with troubling graffiti in the
area.
"Trenton Avenue, I saw the tagging of the gangs," said
Villanueva, the director of CASA Inc., a social service agency. "I
would not like to see gang activity in the 6th Ward, and I've
already seen tagging."
As for police presence, Sayegh said there is room for
improvement, and if elected, he hopes to open a dialogue with the
Paterson Police Department.
"(I understand) that police response time should improve and it
should be a certain standard, that people who are paying high
property taxes, the services should be there," he said.
Reach Alexander MacInnes at 973-569-7166 or
macinnes@northjersey.com.
IN THE NEWS . . .
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ONE PEOPLE.
ONE PURPOSE.
ONE PATERSON.
ONE PURPOSE.
ONE PATERSON.
Sayegh For Mayor
Bringing Neighbors Together