Hello all!

I'm bumping this up again because Rolando Lavarro is up for a runoff.

Rolando is/was on the Manzo team.

We have a chance to support another candidate in another Ward who is interested in bringing change and clean politics to Jersey City. We also have another chance to build a relationship with another Council Member.

I have worked with Rolando in a Youth Program and I can attest to his integrity, his "go by the book of non-profits bible" approach, and his community leadership.

I will be hosting a meet and greet in Downtown. I'll keep you posted.

I wanted to start this post to bring up Rolando Lavarro's candidacy for City Council in Ward A. I didn't see any posts specific to Ward A and I know a few JC Listers have family and friends in this area.

For those of you who haven't met Rolando, he is a seasoned community organizer. His work with Communities that Care Coalition and drug prevention is commendable as he organized blockwatches and informative events for parents.

He has approached Board of Education with potential research studies for elementary school kids that will show that the youth know more about drugs than we know. Thus, we need to address the problem. But the BOE did not want to do another research, especially one that may place a "face and identity" on our drug problems.

He has encouraged me to volunteer with the youth. He has assisted many community organizations especially the Filipino Veterans Equity where Filipino Veterans who fought for the U.S. but were denied benefits are requesting final compensation. Rolando and his wife, called, emailed, and collected signatures upon signatures to send to D.C. They were met with success in this long battle.

You will find him seeking Block grants or writing grants for the community. You will find him researching ways to identify and resolve social problems. I can go on and do the long list of non-profits that he as served...the point is he does his work!

He works at NJCU as a Associate Director of Grants and was (born?) and raised in Jersey City.


So please consider Rolando Lavarro for Ward A.