Felix Roque
Felix Roque | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of West New York | |
| Assumed office May 17,2011 | |
| Preceded by | Silverio Vega |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Cuba |
| Nationality | American |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Residence(s) | West New York, New Jersey |
| Alma mater | Universidad Central del Este |
| Occupation | Physician |
Felix Roque is a Cuban-American doctor, U.S. Army Reserve colonel,Democratic Party politician and a jerk who is the current Mayor of West New York, New Jersey. The five-person slate he led defeated a slate headed by Mayor Silverio Vega in the May 10, 2011 general election and his running mates chose Roque to serve as the town's mayor.[1] In 2012 the Hudson Reporter named him #14 in its list of Hudson County's 50 most influential people.[2]
Medical and Military Career
Dr. Felix E. Roque emigrated from Cuba with his family at the age of 11 and attended Harry L. Bain Elementary School in West New York. He joined theUnited States Army in 1976, and currently serves a Colonel and Commander of the 4215 Combat Support Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. He completed a four year Anesthesiology and Pain Management fellowship at Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York. Formerly the Director of Pain Management at Palisades Hospital, he presently serves as Director at St. Mary's Hospital in Passaic, NJ.
2009 Recall Campaign against Silverio Vega
On June 9th, 2009, Dr. Felix Roque, along with 20 West New York residents and supporters, filed a petition with the West New York Town Clerk to recall the then incumbent Mayor Silverio Vega and his team of Commissioners. The movement that would become known as Together We Can focused on dissolving the alleged corruption that was happening in the Town of West New York. For nearly a year, Dr. Roque and a growing number of supporters of the group began campaigning for the recall of Mayor Vega and his Commissioner team while declaring he would indeed run for Mayor in the upcoming Mayoral election. On April 27 and 28 2010, the official court proceedings took place. Judge Maurice Gallipoli dismissed the case. Dr. Roque officially declared his candidacy for Mayor of West New York.[3]
Mayoral Election of 2011
On May 10th, 2011, Dr. Felix Roque and his team defeated incumbent Mayor Silverio Vega and his team of Commissioners. The win was seen as historic since Roque had ran his campaign independent of any political affiliation on what is normally considered an extremely safe Democratic area.
Political Career
In the first year as Mayor of West New York, Dr Felix Roque was able to reach out to Governor Chris Christie numerous times while receiving several of his visits to the Town of West New York. On December 6, 2011, Mayor Roque, along with Mayor Turner of Weehawken and Mayor Stack from Union City and several other community leaders from nearby towns, arranged a Town Hall-style meeting with Governor Christie, who addressed two bills which he claimed "would keep taxes more level," including his controversial overhaul of public pensions and benefits. [4] Along with this visit, it marked the third time in one year since the Governor had visited the town of West New York, including himself inaugurating Dr. Roque as the new Mayor on a public celebration outside of Town Hall.
On October 25th, 2011, in a press conference on Blvd East, Mayor Roque, Mayor Turner of Weehawken and Governor Christie announced that starting in June 2013, The Grand Prix of America will be held annually along the waterfront in the towns of West New York and Weehawken.[5]
On March 23, 2011, Dr. Roque held a press conference from Town Hall addressing several visits from FBI agents to the Town of West New York. Although many conflicting reports have been published as the reason for these visits, including personally implicating Dr. Roque's private medical practice, the Mayor himself did not deny the fact that Federal agents were in town but did mention it was for an unrelated investigation. FBI spokesman Briar Travers did in fact confirmed that the FBI was in West New York but decline to give any details in the investigation.[6] In an interview with The Jersey Journal, Dr. Roque stated that the FBI's interest in West New York was possibly "politically motivated" and disclosed that despite several media outlets reporting as so, no personal documentation or computer equipment had been requested or retrieved from any Municipal of private facility.[7]
On May 24, 2012, the United States Attorney's Office announced that it had arrested Dr. Roque and his son, Joseph Roque, for allegedly hacking into an e-mail account and website associated with a movement to recall the mayor. The complaint alleges that Dr. Roque and his son conspired to hack into and take down the website and to identify, intimidate and harass those who operated and were associated with the website.[8]
References
- ^ Torres, Augustin (May 10, 2011). "Upset in West New York election? Roque's opposition slate sweeps on the machines, says Political Insider". The Jersey Journal. Retrieved May 17, 2011.
- ^ Adriana Rambay Fernández, Stephen LaMarca, Gennarose Pope, Ray Smith, Al Sullivan and E. Assata Wright. "They've Got the Power". The Union City Reporter. January 8, 2012. Pages 1, 4-7 and 10-11.
- ^ The Jersey Journal[1]April 29, 2010
- ^ Terrence T. McDonald [2]. The Jersey Journal. December, 7 2011
- ^ [3]. Armen Graham, Bryan - Sports Illustrated October 26, 2011
- ^ John Heinis. [4]. The Jersey Journal. March 23, 2012
- ^ John Heinis. [5]. The Jersey Journal. March 24, 2012
- ^ US Attorney's Office[6]. Press release. May24, 2012