West New York Public Affairs Commissioner Cosmo Cirillo is chiding former Congressman Albio Sires for not debating him ahead of the non-partisan May 9th municipal elections, with the Sires team dismissing the callout as “a cheap political stunt.”
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Why is Albio Sires hiding? I support having a public conversation where we can each discuss how we would address the most pressing issues facing West New York like increasing parking, hiring more police officers to keep us safe, and offer residents the accessibility and accountability they demand of their mayor,” Cirillo said in a statement.
“I am confident in my experience, knowledge, and qualifications. It is a shame that he refuses to sit down and face the voters. West New York deserves better!”
While West New York mayoral hopefuls typically haven’t engaged in debates in recent memory, with the last election forum hosted by the now defunct Hudson Reporter in April 2011, about a month before Felix Roque upset then-Mayor Sal Vega.
That election forum had all 10 commissioner candidates, including Roque and Vega, participate.
The New Jersey League of Women Voters hosted a similar forum in 2015, though Roque and his running mates did not attend this time – they still ended up sweeping.
In 2019, when Commissioner Gabriel Rodriguez and his “New Beginning West New York” team (which included Cirillo) unseated Roque, there were no candidate forums or debates.
Back when Cirillo appeared on the January 10th episode of HCV Live & Uncut, he said he was “absolutely” interested in debating his opponents, which also included Roque at the time (he dropped out in February).
Nevertheless, the Sires camp says that they had not received a formal invitation to debate and that a serious challenge would have been made weeks ago, as opposed to a month prior to the election.
“Congressman Sires has participated in numerous media interviews and community forums and he has a full schedule for the next four weeks until Election Day focused on campaigning and talking directly to voters about the issues that matter most to them,” said Sires campaign spokesman Phil Swibinski.
“If this was a serious request the Cirillo team would have made it weeks ago before campaign schedules were set, and this is clearly nothing but a cheap political stunt from a desperate campaign that knows it’s losing this election.”
With Roque out of the race, Cirillo’s “West New York Forward” slate is going head-to-head with the “Sires Team for West New York” next month.
I voted for both Congressman Sires and Commissioner Cirillo. Michael Harper, Clerk of the Board of Elections, who handles and counts votes in this municipal election, was Assemblyman Albio Sires Chief of Staff. If he does not willingly recuse himself from having any access to any ballots cast in this election, his boss must recuse Mr. Harper. Furthermore, any of Mr. Harper’s subordinates, that is, anyone Mr. Harper hired or promoted, or can promote, must likewise be recused or disqualified from counting or having access to these ballots. While Mr. Harper has had this position since at least 2006, Mr. Sire has never had a close election from 2006 to the present, either in the primaries or in the general elections. This election is different. There are more incumbents running on Commissioner Cirillo’s ticket, than on Congressman Sires ticket. Each ticket has 5 candidates; all who deserve a fair election without even the possibility that a former staffer of Congressman Sires when he was an Assemblyman would have an unfair chance to put his thumb on the scale for his former boss and his ticket. You’ve stood up for justice many times, Congressman Sires. What say you here?
Election Fraud? By Democrats? Didnt we just spend the last 3 years hearing about how that never happens?
As a taxpayer and voter in WNY I have long been disturbed by the lack of any meaningful input from candidates in local elections. Voters deserve to hear interactions between the candidates and extemporaneous responses to our questions and concerns. If a candidate is unwilling – or, too busy, as Sires’ apparently is – he should not even be considered for public office. Sires’ record in Congress is unimpressive and one of his running mates, Marcos Arroyo, is someone whom he did not even support in the last Congressional race. We deserve to know, in the very least, why he now wants to foist Arroyo on us as a commissioner. I can think of numerous other questions I would like answered. Kudos to Cosmo Cirillo for his willingness to give voters more than just a constant barrage of campaign mailings. He will get my vote and, I hope, those of a majority of voters.
P.S. Rather than criticize Cirillo for his alleged “lateness” in calling for a debate, Sires’ spokesperson should be explaining why Sires himself hasn’t called for a debate. I would certainly like to know why he hasn’t, and why he refused the timely invitation from his opponent to engage in a debate. The fact that debates have not been the norm in local elections does not mean that voters are not interested in seeing them. They should be required in every election. It’s about time we demanded more of our candidates than the fact that they are supported by the HC Democratic machine, as Sires and his unimpressive slate of running mates obviously are. It’s really not hard to figure out the political maneuvering that resulted in all the shifting of incumbents in the current races and how Sires wound up running again for his former position. It’s really a farce, and taxpayers and voters deserve better.