Former Hudson County Freeholder and Jersey City Board of Education President Joel Torres is backing Elvin Dominici Encarnación for the Ward D council seat.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“I have known Elvin for nearly 15 years. He was with me on Election Day in 2014, walking block by block to make sure residents were heard. Long before his name was ever on a ballot, he was organizing his neighbors, petitioning for stop signs, and pushing for improvements that too many officials ignored,” Torres said in a statement.
“That is why I am proud to endorse him. Because he understands that leadership is service, not self-promotion, and he knows how to keep showing up even when the establishment stalls out.”
Torres emphasized that the race for Ward D is not just about filling a seat but about raising a standard.
“The political establishment will always have its candidate. That is no surprise. But residents deserve more than recycled promises and a return to the same politics that failed them years ago. Real leadership does not wait until election season to act. It starts on day one and it does not stop until the work is done.”
The Heights-based council seat is a five-person contest to succeed Councilman Yousef Saleh next year, who decided not to seek re-election after coming up short in the June 10th Democratic primary for state Assembly in the 32nd Legislative District.
The field also includes Catherine Healy, the daughter of former Mayor Jerramiah Healy, Patrick Ambrossi, Jake Ephros, and Veronica Akaezuwa.
Healy is running with ex-Gov. Jim McGreevey, Ambrossi is on Mussab Ali’s slate, Ephros is running independently, and Akaezuwa is on Ward E Councilman James Solomon’s ticket.
Meanwhile, Dominici Encarnación is part of Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea’s slate.
“The fight is not over, but it can look different. I am urging every parent who signed a petition with me, every resident who pulled the lever next to my name, every neighbor who waited hours at a meeting to speak, to do it again,” Torres added.
“Stay engaged. Demand better. Vote with purpose. Let us start that here, in The Heights. Let us start that now. Let us start that with Elvin.”
