Alex Blanco | |
---|---|
Mayor of Passaic, New Jersey | |
In office November 2008 –November 2016 | |
Preceded by | Gary Schaer (as Acting Mayor) |
Succeeded by | Hector Lora |
Member of the Passaic School Board | |
Personal details | |
Born | 1972 (age 51–52) Dominican Republic |
Political party | Democratic Party |
Spouse | Aurora Blanco |
Alma mater | Kean University New York College of Podiatric Medicine |
Profession | Mayor,Passaic,New Jersey |
Alex Blanco (born 1972) is an American politician,who served as mayor of Passaic,New Jersey. A member of the Democratic Party,Blanco was the first elected and second serving Dominican-American mayor in the United States. [1] [2] [3]
Alex Blanco was born in the Dominican Republic in 1972. [2] In 1984,when Alex was 12 years old,he emigrated from La Vega Province to Passaic,New Jersey,with his mother,stepfather,and two siblings. Two of his siblings have recently moved with him as well. [2] [4] Blanco's family struggled financially and received foodstamps for a time during Alex's childhood. [4] He was paid by the Passaic School Board for taking the SAT's. [4] Blanco graduated from Kean University and New York College of Podiatric Medicine. [2]
Blanco was first elected in November 2008 in a special election to complete the unexpired term of former Mayor Samuel Rivera,who resigned after pleading guilty to attempted extortion. [1] He received around twenty eight percent of the 13,769 votes. [1]
In April 2009,Blanco announced he was running for a full-term,and was endorsed by Senator Bob Menendez. [5] He won a full four-year term in the May election,defeating city supervisor Vincent Capuana. [3] Blanco was sworn on July 1,2009,when he began serving his four-year term. [3]
Blanco was described as the "classic American success story" by Gary Schaer,whom Blanco replaced as acting mayor in the 2008 special election. [2]
In November 2016,Blanco pled guilty to a single federal count of bribery,agreeing to resign immediately. [6] Blanco admitted in court to accepting $110,000 in bribes from two unnamed housing developers in exchange for directing more than $200,000 in HUD funds to a failed low-income housing development. [7] He faced up to 10 years in federal prison upon sentencing,scheduled for February 2017. [8] He was succeeded by Passaic County Freeholder Hector Lora,in an appointment made by the City Council.
Blanco is the second consecutive elected mayor of Passaic,and the third in two decades (following Joseph Lipari and Sammy Rivera),to be convicted of or plead guilty to official misconduct charges. [7] [9] [10]
Passaic is a city in Passaic County,in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census,the city was the state's 16th-most-populous municipality,with a population of 70,537,falling behind Bayonne,an increase of 756 (+1.1%) from the 2010 census count of 69,781,which in turn reflected an increase of 1,920 residents (+2.8%) from the 2000 census population of 67,861. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated a population of 68,903 for 2023,making it the 552nd-most populous municipality in the nation. Among cities with more than 50,000 people,Passaic was the fifth-most densely populated municipality in the United States,with more than 22,000 people per square mile.
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