UPDATE on 09/04/2018 @ 0600H: All Three Mayoral Candidates Will Be Interviewing
With the two other mayoral candidates already scheduled to sit down for an in-depth conversation in September, candidate Joseph Signorello III has formally declined to take part in the one-on-one interview with Roselle Park News.
The typed letter in an unstamped envelope was hand-delivered and put into the newspaper editor’s mailbox. The 20-word communication simply read:
“Please direct any campaign inquiries to the Campaign Manager of Signorello for Mayor. You can find his contact information below.”
It was signed by Mr. Signorello and provided the aforementioned information.
The candidate’s position is contrary to the newspaper’s policy and concise statement in its invitation to all candidates that it does “not discuss anything with campaign managers, political committee members, or anyone other than the candidate.”
The letter came after attempts to reach out to Mr. Signorello via social media and phone call for an interview date earlier in the week went unanswered.
The newspaper’s policy stems from the belief that a person running for elected office should speak for themselves since if elected, they are going to be the person who will, hopefully, decide and speak for themselves on matters that impact the residents and the borough. In short, if someone running for office needs the permission or approval from a political party representative for something as simple as an interview, who will they listen to if they are elected into office?
In a small town such as Roselle Park, there is no need to talk through a mediator to give someone running for elected office the opportunity to take part in an open-ended, on-the-record, independent conversation on their platform without a time limit.
Calling Mr. Signorello after receiving the letter, the mayoral candidate confirmed that he would decline the invitation for an interview. At the end of the almost four-minute conversation, he stated, “I’m not going to take part.”
In consideration of the position held by Mr. Signorello, a phone call was placed yesterday to Dan Petroksy, the candidate’s campaign manager who is also Chair of the Roselle Park Democratic Committee (link). Mr. Petrosky answered the phone and once notified of who was calling, the campaign manager quickly stated, “I don’t have time right now, that’s all so sorry I’m at work. It’s very busy over here so I’ll give you a call back later on.”
After hearing the request for a comment on mayoral candidate Joseph Signorello III’s declining an interview, Mr. Petrosky hung up the phone.
No phone call was returned.
This morning, just before publication, another phone call was placed to Mr. Petrosky who restated, “I’m busy. I’m at work, okay? I cannot talk to you.”
He then hung up the phone.
As of today, the candidate has declined to talk about his platform in pursuit for the office of Roselle Park Mayor and the person he specifically instructed such matters be directed to also refuses to communicate.
Amid all this, the invitation still stands with the same terms of a sit down one-on-one open-ended conversation that will have a list of baseline questions provided to the candidate in order to allow for a meaningful conversation on their candidacy.
It is for the benefit of the residents of Roselle Park to have an independent source ask questions – including those provided by residents – of those wanting to represent the people.