Group of Elmwood Park officials endorse Wimberly, Abdelaziz, Cruz in primary

A group of Elmwood Park officials endorsed a trio of party-backed legislative candidates on Wednesday.

Elmwood Park Democratic Municipal Chairwoman Sandra Balistrieri, Councilman Daniel Golabek, and Councilman Francesco Fasolo endorsed State Sen. Benjie Wimberly (D-Paterson), Assemblyman Al Abdelaziz (D-Paterson), and Passaic County Commissioner Orlando Cruz.

Wimberly does not face a primary challenge in the special election for the 35th district’s Senate seat. Wimberly, formerly an Assemblyman, won a special convention in January to ascend to the Senate. That convention was needed to replace the now-Rep. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon), who succeeded the late Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson) in Congress.

In the special convention, Wimberly defeated fellow Assemblymember Shavonda Sumter (D-Paterson) by one vote, and Sumter later announced she would not seek re-election to the Assembly.

“We know that Benjie, Al and Orlando will best represent us in Trenton to fight for middle-class taxpayers and defend our Democratic values,” the Elmwood Park Democrats said. “While Elmwood Park is a smaller part of the legislative district, we have shown that when we are united, we can play a role in the outcome.”

Paterson accounts for most of the 35th legislative district’s voters.

Abdelaziz was selected for the Assembly to replace Wimberly in the lower chamber. Cruz quickly became a leading party-backed candidate to succeed Sumter after her announcement that she would not return. 

Abdelaziz and Cruz face a pair of primary challengers: Kenyatta Stewart, the Newark Corporation Counsel and an ally of Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, and former Garfield Councilman Romi Herrera, running on Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop’s slate of Assembly candidates.

Most Paterson councilmembers endorsed Wimberly, Abdelaziz, and Cruz earlier this week. 

The 53% Hispanic district consists largely of Passaic County, but also hosts Elmwood Park and Garfield of Bergen County.