There are two differing stories circulating over what actually happened to the 78-year old mother of West New York, Column A Commission candidate, Angelica Jimenez on Saturday afternoon near the early polling location at 5100 Park Avenue.
During a telephone interview with Hudson TV this afternoon, Assemblywoman Jimenez said that her mother, who was acting as her driver during the afternoon’s campaigning, was harassed by supporters of the Column B Sires team while she was sitting in her car waiting for her daughter to return from said campaigning. Candidate Jimenez says her mother, who is not fluent in English, was approached by several, screaming Column B supporters, who began banging on her car, yelling that she had move the vehicle because it was within 100 feet of the polling site. Jimenez says her mother’s car had one, visible, Column A campaign sign, but her mother was parked legally, clearly beyond the 100 foot, electioneering distance, which you can see marked in yellow in the photo provided.
The Column B Sires team has a different take on what happened. They say none of their volunteers were banging or screaming at candidate Jimenez’s mother. They just asked her to move the car so it wouldn’t be within 100 feet of the polling location.
It’s your typical, he said, she said election season follies that seems to occur way too often in Hudson County politics.
The Assemblywoman went on to say her mother became very scared when she was supposedly being harassed, and when she went to move the car from its parking space, she hit the car parked in front of hers. She then got out of the car to check for damage, but the alleged harassing and screaming continued, again a charge disputed by the Sires’ supporters.
As the elder Jimenez started to cross the street to be with fellow Column A supporters, she tripped in the street and fell, suffering facial bruises. The photos show how the bruising has increased since Saturday’s fall.
Accounts provided by the Sires’ supporters say they helped the Assemblywoman’s mother to her feet and got her a bottle of water. Assemblywoman Jimenez says the person who helped her mother to her feet was not one of the alleged group of Column B Sires’ supporters who were yelling and screaming at her.
Hudson TV contacted the West New York Police Department to see if a police report was filed on the incident, but we were told the Records Room was closed today and wouldn’t reopen until Tuesday morning, Election Day. Meanwhile, we never received a return telephone call from any superior officer in the Department to check facts on what did or did not happen to the Assemblywoman’s mother during the Saturday incident, which happened around 2:45 pm.
The Assemblywoman says her mother is sore. She’s just thankful it isn’t any worse than it is.
