Gary Schaer

Councilman Jose "Joe" Garcia: Politicker file photo 

PASSAIC - The streets throb with Mariachi rhythms as the floats and red, white and green-draped cars move slowly through Passaic and the public men and women wave to the crowds that spill finally into the yard of Public School Number 11 in the 2nd Ward: a confluence of food, flags, bodies and music.

All pay homage to Mexican independence.

The lead singer dances on stage and sing about Mexico and women, and arms in the crowd sway to the horns and guitars and in the background in the middle of supporters wearing red shirts with his name printed on them stands a subdued man in a gray suit.

Councilman Jose "Joe" Garcia shakes hands with a lot of people who pass. They know him. He has nine children, and has served on the School Board for 12 years, and as councilman for the last seven years.

School Board President Vincent Capuana: Politicker photo 

PASSAIC - On Main Street, the tower looms over everything like the past.

Vincent Capuana and Carl Ellen grew up here together and now they’re running against each other for mayor in this immigrant city dominated by an old Art Deco building you can see all the way from the high ground in Paterson, which teemed with business 40 years ago, and now stands abandoned.

The Sicilian, and the African-American from Macon, Georgia came of age in the same Washington Place neighborhood, on the same block, right next door, in Passaic.

"I’m not going to say anything bad about anyone in this race," said Ellen, now 65, sitting in his bailbondsman’s office at the corner of State and Passaic streets. "All of the men I’m running against are caballeros y carinosos."

Gentlemen and affectionate.

They are, all told, Ellen and School Board President Capuana, physician Alex Blanco, real estate developer Jose Sandoval and Councilman Joe Garcia.

School Board member Dr. Alex Blanco: Politicker photo 

PASSAIC - Just over a week ago he was somewhere in the middle of a crowded pack, barely distinguishable among the other contestants running for mayor. But from the standpoint of the Latino vote, which constitutes a little over 50 percent of the Passaic electorate, Councilman Joe Garcia’s the man right now.

At first it looked as though there were going to be three Puerto Rican candidates in the race: Ritzy Morales, Maritza Colon-Montanez and Garcia.

Then Morales dropped out on filing day, and two days later, Colon-Montanez aborted her own campaign and threw her support to Garcia.

That hit hard two men in the rest of the five-man field: Jose Sandoval and Alex Blanco.

The Dominican candidates won’t admit that the sudden moves by the Puerto Ricans produced any impact on the contest. Ask them about Morales and Colon-Montanez and they smile and shrug. No big deal. They weren’t going to do much anyway.

Acting Mayor/Assemblyman Gary Schaer: Politicker file photo 

He’s the man everyone’s watching, in part because his ties are deep and solid with the powerful Orthodox Jewish vote in Passaic, but at least for now, Assemblyman/Acting Mayor Gary Schaer (D-Passaic) said he is not prepared to make an endorsement in the race for mayor.

Sources say Schaer is close to School Board President Alex Blanco, a physician, who in addition to his own Dominican base has good ties to the Democratic Party and to other long-established families in Passaic.

But the acting mayor insisted he’s not ready to commit jut yet.

"I’ve seen a lot of posters and bumper stickers, but I have not heard any plans," said Schaer. "What are their plans? What is their vision to put Passaic on the right track? I’m not hearing that from the candidates, and I need to hear that.

MINNEAPOLIS - Nutley businessman Carmen Pio Costa said he’s definitely considering another run for Assembly in the 36th Legislative District next year.

"I’m just seeing how things play out in the party right now," said Pio Costa, 29, who in 2007 lost by 2,400 votes in his shot against Democratic Assemblymen Fred Scalera (D-Nutley) and Gary Schaer (D-Passaic).

"I was very pleased with our result last time, especially considering our late entry into the game," said Pio Costa, speaking in a telephone interview with PolitickerNJ.com. "I would like to run with the benefit of the experience I received from running last time."

MINNEAPOLIS - The potential players in next year’s 36th District Assembly contest are staying low at the moment.

According to sources, Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Passaic) is likely to run for his Assembly spot again rather than pursue the mayor’s seat that the convicted Sammy Rivera left vacant.

But at the moment, he remains coy about his plans.

"The filing deadline is Sept. 12th," he said of the Passaic mayor’s contest. "I’m not prepared to make a statement."

His district mate, Assemblyman Fred Scalera (D-Nutley), definitely intends to run for re-election in a district containing portions of three counties, that is nearly 54 percent concentrated in Bergen.

The big question on the GOP side is whether Rutherford Mayor Joe Hipp decides to challenge Schaer and Scalera.

Ritzy Morales of Passaic: Politicker photo 

DENVER - You can’t stray far from New Jersey’s ward politics here, not if you’re at the Hotel Inverness, where Ritzy Morales told PolitickerNJ.com that she definitely intends to run for mayor of Passaic.

A longtime director of constituent services for U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson), Morales, 41, said she plans to submit 700 petitions to the municipal clerk in advance of the Sept. 12th filing deadline, and expects to have at least 400-500 of them certified to earn well over the required 200.

"The public has known me for a long time," said Morales, born in Paterson and a resident of Passaic for ten years. "I have strong values, and I wouldn’t even accept a cup of coffee from someone as mayor, because of the negativity left by Sammy Rivera. I would definitely stop corruption."

Acting Mayor/Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Passaic): Politicker photo 

PASSAIC - To be in Trenton, or not to be in Trenton, that is the question for Assemblyman Gary Schaer (D-Passaic), who became the acting mayor of Passaic in May when a federal judge found Mayor Sammy Rivera guilty of corruption.

Initially, Schaer, who received the chief executive’s job by virtue of his position as council president, figured he would serve long enough to hand off to whoever wins a Nov. 4th special election.

But about three weeks into his service as acting mayor - with no stunning personality on the city’s horizon line, by his reckoning - Schaer began mulling the idea of pursuing his own mayoral run. 

"We can’t afford to have a mayor who’s not going to build on some of the positive things we’re doing," said Schaer, who implemented local ethics reforms, imposed a 37% cut to the mayoral salary (from $117,000 to $72,000), and a municipal hiring freeze.

Jose Sandoval of Passaic City 

PASSAIC - In a room just off Passaic Avenue with the ceiling fan spinning down on about 30 people in early summer, Jose Sandoval starts with the Lord’s Prayer, then goes into his attack plan for the Nov. 4th special election.

Although he’s never held elected office, Sandoval’s been through this drill before, having run unsuccessfully for the Assembly against Gary Schaer in 2005 and the U.S. Congress a year later against U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-8). 

A 55-year old Republican real estate developer and family man who owns three huge properties in the scandal-ridden city’s upscale section, he looks like a sharply dressed man of the people as he stands in front of a colorful banner with one word bigger than the rest: "Sandoval."

It’s four months before the election to fill the unexpired term of convicted former Mayor Sammy Rivera, and Sandoval’s talking strategy. He’s talking about getting voters registered and getting the elderly and infirm to polling places. He speaks fast and eloquently in Spanish.

Five days into his service as acting mayor of Passaic, Gary SchaerPassaic Acting Mayor Gary Schaer pledged to remove the taint of corruption from a city whose former mayor pleaded guilty to extortion last Friday and resigned hours before Schaer assumed office.

"Throughout my over 18 years of service to Passaic, I have sought to serve with distinction and honor, always taking into account what is best for all of Passaic," said Schaer, 57, an investment analyst broker who served as commissioner of the Passaic Housing Authority for five years prior to his election to the council.

As the successor of Sammy Rivera, Schaer continues in his role as council president, and as the legislature’s first Orthodox Jewish assemblyman, now serving his second term in the 36th district.