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.”
“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.