(I told you, the native country does not have a monopoly of the trade.)

Transcription

1 JERSEY CITY The long wait by the big Filipino population in Jersey City to have representation in their City Council is now over with the victory of Filipino-American Rolando R. Lavarro, Jr. in last Tuesday s elections. Lavarro will fill up one of the city s two vacant council-at-large positions which were vacated earlier, one of which was due to resignation resulting from corruption charges. (I told you, the native country does not have a monopoly of the trade.) The Lavarro victory is historic for Filipinos in Jersey City because this is the first time, despite repeated attempts in previous elections, for a Filipino-American to win an elective post in this city by the Hudson. In spite of the large number of Filipinos (currently estimated at 15,000) who have settled in this third largest city throughout New Jersey since the early 70s, and some who ran in three previous elections, not one was able to capture an elective position in the city government...until 1 / 6

2 now. The highest city position reached by a Filipino was that of a deputy mayor. Others were named commissioners in past years. But those were all appointive posts. In past elections, Filipinos here ran against each other. Thus, dividing the so-called Filipino vote as intended by the respective political bosses. As a result, the Filipinos voted for their respective Filipino candidates. No one ever won. In the last Nov. 8 elections, no other Filipino ran. Lavarro was the only Pinoy among the 17 candidates. Two were supposed to win for two-year term starting January Rolando placed second with 3,359 votes. His teammate, Viola Richardson, was first with 3,881 votes. 2 / 6

3 The duo was known as the Committed to Service team. Such was the ideal situation Filipinos in Jersey City (JC) had been espousing for years. Only one Filipino candidate. It proved to be correct. It is with pride that this writer, being a longtime resident of this city, took an active part in the election of a fellow Filipino-American. I was one of the challengers who watched inside a polling place here for 14 hours on election day together with another longtime JC couple, Jun and Millie Hornilla. I am proud to be part of this historic exercise, Jun told me after we totaled the votes in four precincts we watched, where Rolando topped over all his opponents, including his teammate. We were assigned at Our Lady of Mercy Elementary School precincts A 4, 5, 6 & 7. For the record, to cite an aspect of the hard work Rolando put in his campaign, he showed up in our precinct at 6:05 a.m. on Election Day to shake hands with all the election workers and, perhaps, to check on whether Jun and I were in our designated posts (joke). The councilman-elect and his wife Veronica, who acted as the no-nonsense and hardworking co-campaign manager (Helen Castillo was the other campaign manager), have asked us to extend their boundless thanks and appreciation to all who helped and supported them during 3 / 6

4 the campaign. We noticed that so many people of all ages and colors worked actively in support of the Lavarro-Richardson team. So many to mention here. It is an accepted historical fact in this city that Filipinos were the ones who turned around its real estate business. When the city was in bad shape in the 70s when its residents and businesses were leaving, Filipinos started to come in. They bought properties and improved on existing and abandoned homes. They also built new homes, foremost of which, are the houses along Manila Avenue in the Downtown section of the city. The rest is history. Jersey City is now a flourishing place where developments of tall residential and commercial buildings are continuing in the downtown area. The western section of the city, where many Filipinos reside, will also undergo massive developments similar to the downtown area in the near future. 4 / 6

5 Going back to our new councilman and promising young political leader, Rolando is a Jersey City guy since birth. He was born in the Greenville section of Jersey City to Dr. and Mrs. Rolando and Rizalina Lavarro, Sr., who started their successful pursuit of the American Dream in this city. Dr. Lavarro originally came from Lucena City (Quezon Province). Mrs. Lavarro is a native of Zamboanga City. Rolando finished his business course in marketing at New York University. Currently, he is assistant director of grants in New Jersey City University (NJCU) where he assists faculty and staff in meeting the university s mission and priorities by managing the pre-award phase of the sponsored programs process, including developing program ideas, seeking potential funders, writing proposals and budgets. According to an election campaign material, to-date, he has acquired over $7 million from the U.S. Department of Education to support the complete renovation of the university s science labs. The 41-year-old councilman-elect and wife Veronica are blessed with a 22-month-old daughter, Gabriella. *** If I may share, I was privileged to lead the pray over for Rolando on election eve, the night of Nov. 7, held at the then candidate s headquarters. 5 / 6

6 In that gathering of supporters and Election Day volunteer workers, we asked God for victory. We told Him of Rolando s sincerity to serve his people, and that we believed serving the people was also serving Him. Again, the rest is history, that is, spiritual aspect of Rolando s history. mcaball241@aol.com 6 / 6