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By MANNY CABALLERO
This is an attempt to analyze why Greg Racelis lost
in the recent Jersey City election, and what does his
loss mean to the large Filipino community in
that city?
But before we do that, let us salute Greg and all those
before him, who were brave enough to dip their feet into
the hot political waters of Jersey City politics. It takes
extra courage to go out and participate in that city’s
weird political arena.
The much talked about acquiescence of the other city
Fil-Am politicians during the campaign is understandable.
Two are currently employed by the Jersey City government,
while one, by the state government. According to them,
they are prohibited by rules to campaign for any candidate.
Ador Equipado and Linda Mayo are both working for the
city. Equipado is an aide to Mayor Jerramiah Healy. Mayo
is with the procurement department.
Flor Alcantara Medel is assistant superintendent of
New Jersey’s Department of Corrections & Prisons.
I did not have a chance to talk to Jun Florentino, who
is a competitor of Racelis in the business of buying and
selling houses in New Jersey.
All of them, including Racelis, but except Equipado,
ran for council seats and lost in the elections of 2001.
Equipado ran in the Republican primary a year later for
state assembly and also lost.
Like those earlier unsuccessful attempts, the defeat
of Racelis did not weaken the cause of Filipinos in that
city. Definitely not. Thus, it was wrong to say that the
recent election was a test of strength for Pinoys in Jersey
City.
No. Because they were strong before the elections and
they are strong today. Their strength and their critical
role in the community began when Filipinos “invaded”
Jersey City 35 years ago. Filipinos were instrumental
in revitalizing the sinking real estate business in the
area during the 70s.
That is a fact, which is publicly acknowledged and repeated
by past and present mayors of the city since the
days of Gerry McCann.
In the 70s, people and businesses were abandoning
the city. But the Filipinos started to arrive. They bought
old houses and improved on the properties until Jersey
City became inviting again to other groups.
The Indians and the Koreans started to come in. Then,
the Newport development started just a block away from
where the Filipinos built and developed Jersey City’s
first modern housing area for immigrants. The main street
of that housing area was named Manila Avenue. It happened
after Jersey City, through the efforts of local Filipino
leaders then, officially made Manila a sister city. The
rest is history.
Today, there are some 15,000 Filipinos living in Jersey
City. It is the second largest city in the state whose
population is placed at 240,000.
A statue of the Philippines’ national hero, Dr.
Jose P. Rizal, is standing on a prime downtown
lot. The incumbent mayor has a close aide who is
a Filipino.
The city’s chief financial officer and assistant
assessor are both Filipinos.
During Philippine independence week, for over 15 years
now, the city mayor issues a proclamation making that
week Philippine Week in Jersey City. The Philippine flag
is hung alongside the American flag at City Hall during
that entire week. A Philippine parade and festival is
held in the city in July. This has been happening for
over 10 years now.
Filipinos continue to make Jersey City their hub, especially
the new arrivals. This is where many Filipinos converge
as they start their quest for the prized American dream.
Nothing could change all of the above, not even the
unsuccessful council bid of Racelis.
So, the candidacy and electoral defeat of Greg
Racelis cannot and should not be viewed as a weakening
factor for Filipinos in that city. No! It’s the
opposite. In fact, it further strengthened the standing
of Pinoys in the community. It demonstrated that they
could field an independent candidate and wage a decent
fight despite a difficult political arena dominated
by political party machinery.
Greg Racelis himself, as well as both the longtime and
budding Filipino political leaders in that community,
deserve commendation for actively putting out there the
interests of their fellow Pinoys. But they need
to reach out on election time outside the Filipino community.
This is the common weakness of previous Fil-Am politicians.
Judging from the percentage of votes garnered (25 percent)
by Racelis, it appears that he failed, even if he attempted,
to penetrate the mainstream voters in his district.
The local Fil-Am leaders may have their own groupings
and respective agenda, but such arrangement is functional
than dysfunctional to the Filipino-American community
as a whole. Ideally, they should be under one group in
order to be able to push a single agenda or a single candidate
on election time. But that’s not possible. Filipino
culture and practice dictate constructive polarization.
Kanya-kanya. Tayo-tayo. Regionalism.
Those social traits are not really destructive. Can you
imagine if the entire Filipino community came out publicly
in the last elections in favor of independent Greg Racelis
and still lost the election like he did? Had that happened,
the The Jersey Journal’s claim that the
last election was a test of strength for the Filipinos
in Jersey City would have been proved right.
But since many Filipinos, exercising free judgment, publicly
supported the ticket of Mayor Healy, including Mary Spinello,
the candidate who defeated Greg Racelis in the city’s
Ward B, the Filipinos remain a potent force and a critical
factor not only in politics but also in other affairs
of the community.
That was the reason why the observation of The Jersey
Journal was wrong when it said shortly prior to Election
Day that the Racelis running was a test and a measure
of strength for Filipinos.
That was not only a wrong premise. It was an inimical
notion for Filipinos in Jersey City.
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