Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner expected to receive 6-month WNY contract

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Weehawken Mayor Richard Turner is likely going to receive a six-month contract with the town of West New York  as a “special projects” consultant as they continue to search for a new business administrator. 

Richard Turner

By John Heinis/Hudson County View

Turner confirmed that he intends to once again work at West New York Town Hall, effective November 1, on a temporary basis of six months.

The Weehawken mayor, who is currently the chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Albio Sires (D-8) – as well as the business administrator for Sires when he was the mayor of West New York – told Hudson County View he has been tapped for a “management consultant” position.

He added that his salary details haven’t been finalized yet and although he’s been seen at 428 60th Street on several occasions in the past couple of weeks, he will not be paid until next month – assuming the board of commissioners approve his appointment at tomorrow night’s meeting.

Matthew Watkins last day as West New York BA, where he earned $196,000 a year, was October 2. He left to serve in the same post in Bloomfield.

Turner is essentially the de facto BA until a full-time employee is hired to fill the void left behind by Watkins.

A search committee to find a new BA, headed by Revenue and Finance Commissioner Susan Colacurcio, was formed at last month’s meeting.

Mayor Felix Roque, who briefly used Turner, also the board chairman of North Hudson Regional Fire & Rescue, as a consultant to the town shortly after he was first elected in 2011, gushed about the positive attributes that the veteran mayor brings to the table.

“This guy brings a world of experience: having worked in the Albio Sires administration, being the mayor of a town that has actually kept taxes low – and has seen tremendous growth in the past 10 years,” Roque explained.

“Now, he’s going to be overseeing special projects. In the next four years, my primary goals are to build veterans housing, fix the roads and continue building new parks and provide more police presence in the streets. That’s my goal. I need him to help me secure the grants and make my dream a reality.”

The latest copy of the latest West New York Board of Commissioners meeting agenda does not appear to have an item regarding Turner or a consulting position, but it will be added before tomorrow evening’s 7 p.m. start time, officials said.


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12 COMMENTS

  1. So how many jobs is this for this man? Maybe he can fire some of the overpaid and useless town workers! The residents of West New York will continue to get the shaft!

  2. Say what you will, but Turner is a no nonsense kinda guy. The deadbeat employees (you know who they are) are all in for a rude awaking. Oh my God, they might actually have to show up…… And work. Preliminary reports given to him name all the PLAYERS. So between His watchful eye and the new time clocks….. Maybe now, WNY can get down to the business, of conducting business .

    Sad part is …. Gina, the biggest offender of a no-show and perfect example of the word useless, is being made health officer tomorrow. It’s seems the ethically challenged continue to prosper. In fact, since Felix got in, Wny really is the gift that keeps on giving. After all …. He’s leading by example.

    Hopefully Turner can put a muzzle on sue. She’s out of control and worse yet, out of her mind.

    Just another day in the pathetic, almost unbelievable thing we call life in Wny.

  3. WELL… Turner’s job?is it 6 months or 4 years mayor?It is your job, as the leader of our community, to secure these grants.what the hell is going on in West New York? Who is in charge of our town?

  4. These towns have so much redundancy. Hudson County should consider merge some of them especially with them all working for each other as consultants. Weehawken consults to WNY and Hoboken. I say give weehawken Mayor the job of the three towns are remove the redundancy and eliminate the dirty politics in each of the towns. Hoboken is the most guilty. Hoboken’s senseless legal suits alone could probably pave all the street in Weehawken, WNY and Hoboken combined!

  5. Is it just me, or isn’t it a bit odd for the mayor of one town to act as Business Administrator for another town – not to mention doing both while being Chief of Staff to a Congressman? There was no one else in town who could fill this “temporary” position?

    Oh, wait, there is nobody inside Roque’s very small inside circle who could do the job, and he never looks beyond that ever shrinking group of supporters.

    • The Jersey Journal is reporting the following today :
      >>>> “According to West New York spokeswoman Natalia Novas, Turner will be paid $90,000 during his six-month stint as a Special Project Consultant, “specifically to deal with issues such as mold remediation.”
      “The municipality has resources for the remediation and in an effort to protect the town from exposure it is important for these issues to move forward,” she said in a statement.
      Novas said that town officials did not mention to her any other projects besides mold remediation.”

      But according to this article, published last Tuesday, he was supposedly going to be the acting business administrator. And according to Roque:
      “This guy brings a world of experience: having worked in the Albio Sires administration, being the mayor of a town that has actually kept taxes low – and has seen tremendous growth in the past 10 years,” Roque explained.
      “Now, he’s going to be overseeing special projects. In the next four years, my primary goals are to build veterans housing, fix the roads and continue building new parks and provide more police presence in the streets. That’s my goal. I need him to help me secure the grants and make my dream a reality.”

      Not a single word about mold. So which is it? Did they concoct the phony mold story over the weekend because they think people are so stupid that we wouldn’t remember this article from a week ago?
      Mr. Heinis, do you know what is going on?

      • Just a clarify a couple of things: The Jersey Journal hasn’t had jurisdiction to report in North Hudson for at least 6 months. NJ Advance Media, which is basically NJ.com, has taken over that territory completely. With that detail out of the way, his job title is special projects consultant, like I originally reported. I also noted he’d unofficially be a “de facto” business administrator until the position is filled. The town can argue that isn’t his title so he doesn’t have those type of responsibilities and is not acting in a managerial position, but ask anyone who works at Town Hall if they agree with that. I think the answer would almost universally be “no.” I don’t think the mold story is “phony” as you refer to it, I think it is something Turner is involved in, but I think it’s just one small portion of what he’s expected to do, as Roque initially told me.

        • The whole thing still sounds fishy to me. I don’t trust anything these guys say or do.

          Maybe along with the mold, Turner can eradicate some of the slime in Town Hall — but I’m not too hopeful about that.

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