Cosmo Cirillo, Guttenberg administrator and East Newark clerk, files West New York, N.J. 2027 committee listing a 2026 election date

By Julio Reynoso

Updated Oct. 23, 2026, 6:35 p.m. ET, with comment from West New York Mayor Albio Sires.

WEST NEW YORK, N.J. — The state campaign filing for former West New York Commissioner Cosmo A. Cirillo’s new committee, “West New York Forward 2027,” lists an election date that has already passed, state records show. Cirillo, who lost to Mayor Albio Sires’ slate in 2023, holds two other public jobs: town administrator in Guttenberg and borough clerk in East Newark. Sires told Hudson TV on Friday that he will run again, with all five members of his current slate.

Cirillo filed a Form D-2 joint candidates committee certificate with the N.J. Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC). ELEC received it Oct. 21 at 1:53 p.m., and Cirillo signed it the same day. The committee’s name refers to 2027, and the form checks “May Municipal” as the election type. But its election-date field reads “05/12/2026.” That date has passed. West New York’s next municipal election is in May 2027.

Sires said Cirillo is free to run. “It’s a free country. Anybody can run,” Sires told Hudson TV’s Jeff Henig in a phone interview Friday. “I’m very comfortable with what we’ve done our last few years in office, and the people in town are receptive to what we’ve done.” Asked whether he had anything to add, Sires laughed and said, “What do you want me to say?” He repeated that if Cirillo wants to run, “it’s a free country,” and said his team is “proud of what we’ve accomplished” in its term.

Asked whether he is running again, Sires chuckled and first said, “I’m thinking about it.” Then, after a pause, he said, “Of course I’m gonna run.” He said, “We have a very good team, we’ve accomplished a lot,” and “we wanna continue moving the community, the municipality forward.” Asked whether he expects any changes on his ticket, Sires said, “No,” adding, “All five of us, we all work well together.” He said they “will run together for reelection as a group, all five of us together.”

Sires also told Hudson TV he expects Assemblyman Gabriel Rodriguez to run for the Assembly again in 2027. After a pause, Sires said, “I guess I’ll support him.”

Cirillo is the only candidate listed so far. The form lists his office sought only as “Council or Municipal Office” in West New York, in a nonpartisan election. It names Jorge Gomez as chairperson and Cirillo as his own treasurer, with ConnectOne Bank as the depository.

The filing has been widely reported as a bid for mayor in May 2027, a rematch with Sires. Cirillo has not confirmed that publicly. A D-2 is an early step. It sets up a committee that can raise and spend money, but it does not mean a candidate has announced a run or chosen running mates. In West New York, voters elect five commissioners, and the mayor is chosen from among them.

Cirillo’s jobs

Cirillo is the town administrator of Guttenberg, N.J. A June 1, 2026 Guttenberg job notice names “Dr. Cosmo A. Cirillo, Town Administrator,” and the town’s public-records request form lists him as “Town Clerk.” Guttenberg said in January 2026 that he was reappointed as municipal clerk.

He is also the borough clerk of East Newark, N.J., listed as “Dr. Cosmo A. Cirillo, RMC” in borough minutes from January 2024. He signed, as “Dr. Cosmo A. Cirillo, RMC, Borough Clerk,” East Newark’s notice of a special council meeting set for Monday, Oct. 26, at noon. Its only listed item is a possible vote to reject all bids and re-advertise the borough’s NJDOT-funded Grant Avenue roadway improvements project.

Cirillo served on the West New York Board of Commissioners from 2015 until 2023. His N.J. Apportionment Commission bio says he was chief of staff to then-Assemblywoman Angelica Jimenez and a senior adviser to then-Assembly Speaker Vincent Prieto.

Same name as 2023

The name echoes Cirillo’s 2023 “West New York Forward” ticket. On May 9, 2023, Sires’ slate swept all five commission seats, winning about 61% to 39%, the New Jersey Globe and InsiderNJ reported. Sires received 3,877 votes to Cirillo’s 2,473, according to the Globe. Cirillo’s 2023 running mates were then-Commissioner Margarita Guzman, then-Assemblywoman Angelica Jimenez, Walter Lopez and Hiram Gonzalez. None won a seat.

The New Jersey Globe reported Friday that Cirillo was a longtime aide to North Bergen Mayor Nicholas Sacco and had Sacco’s support in 2023, while Sires was backed by Union City Mayor Brian Stack and the Hudson County Democratic Organization. The Globe said a Cirillo run could leave Sacco’s organization fighting on two fronts next year. Sacco is retiring, and Commissioner Hugo Cabrera is set to be sworn in as North Bergen’s mayor on Wednesday, Oct. 28, according to the township.

A town contract this week

At their regular meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 21, West New York’s commissioners under Sires amended the town’s 2026 corporation counsel contract with the law firm Scarinci Hollenbeck, LLC, raising its cap by $200,000, from $575,000 to “not to exceed $775,000.00,” according to a notice of contracts awarded the town clerk posted Oct. 22. The meeting agenda lists the change as Resolution R26-300. The contract covers Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2026. The notice says it was awarded as a professional service without competitive bidding, which state law allows. Sires told Hudson TV the vote was unanimous. The town has not posted the resolution text or the official vote record.

We asked

Hudson TV emailed Cirillo earlier Friday, Oct. 23, at the committee email address listed on the filing. That message bounced, so we resent our questions to his Guttenberg town email and also called him. He has not responded. We will update this story with any comment from him.

Hudson TV asks: Who would you like to see run for West New York, N.J. mayor in 2027, and what’s the top issue? Share your take in the comments.