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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.

Biography

Alex Blanco was born in the Dominican Republic in 1972. 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. Blanco's family struggled financially and received foodstamps for a time during Alex's childhood. He was paid by the Passaic School Board for taking the SAT's. Blanco graduated from Kean University and New York College of Podiatric Medicine.

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. He received around twenty eight percent of the 13,769 votes.

In April 2009, Blanco announced he was running for a full-term, and was endorsed by Senator Bob Menendez. He won a full four-year term in the May election, defeating city supervisor Vincent Capuana. Blanco was sworn on July 1, 2009, when he began serving his four-year term.

Blanco was described as the "classic American success story" by Gary Schaer, whom Blanco replaced as acting mayor in the 2008 special election.

Bribery case and resignation

In November 2016, Blanco pled guilty to a single federal count of bribery, agreeing to resign immediately. 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. He faced up to 10 years in federal prison upon sentencing, scheduled for February 2017. 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.

References

1. ^ being convicted of federal bribery charges in 2016. "Alex Blanco Elected Mayor of Passaic", WCBS880, November 5, 2008, archived from the original on December 8, 2008, retrieved November 3, 2009
2. ^ Coyne, Kevin (November 28, 2008), "Dominican Wins City Hall and a Community's Pride", The New York Times, retrieved May 22, 2010
3. ^ Pizarro, Max (June 30, 2009). "Corzine to swear-in Blanco tomorrow with Menendez also in attendance". PolitickerNJ. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
4. ^ "Dr. Alex Blanco: 1st Dominican-American Mayor in U.S." November 12, 2008. Retrieved November 3, 2009.
5. Pizzaro, Max (April 13, 2009), "Menendez backs Blanco as Passaic mayor launches his reelection campaign at City Hall", PolitickerNJ, retrieved May 22, 2010
6. Cowen, Richard (November 17, 2016), "Passaic mayor pleads guilty to accepting bribes from developers", The Record, retrieved November 17, 2016
7. ^ Moriarty, Thomas (November 17, 2016), "Passaic mayor Alex Blanco admits taking bribe, faces prison", The Star-Ledger, retrieved November 17, 2016
8. Givens, Ann (November 17, 2016), "Passaic Mayor Pleads Guilty to Federal Bribery Charges", NBC4 New York, retrieved November 17, 2016
9. "Ex-Passaic mayor faces sentencing for taking $110K in bribes". NJ.com. Retrieved November 20, 2017.
10. "Ex-Passaic Mayor Alex Blanco gets 2 years in prison in bribery scheme. As of 2018 Alex Blanco, Blanco has pleaded guilty to all charges against him". NJ.com. Retrieved November 20, 2017.

• American politicians of Dominican Republic descent
• Dominican Republic emigrants to the United States
• Hispanic and Latino American mayors in New Jersey
• New Jersey politicians convicted of crimes
• Living people
• American podiatrists
• Mayors of Passaic, New Jersey
• 1972 births
• Hispanic and Latino American people in New Jersey politics
• 21st-century mayors of places in New Jersey