On Tuesday, February 24, the voters of the 26th Ward overwhelmingly re-elected Roberto Maldonado as their alderman. Despite the vicious attacks on the Alderman by his detractors, Ald. Maldonado prevailed with an advan- tage of 1209 over his nearest opponent by popular vote and won 41 precincts out of 49.
Ald. Maldonado proved that his record of delivering services to his constituents, his tireless commitment to improving the quality of life of the residents of the 26th, particularly in the area of housing, education, city services and safety. He has been embarking on framing the housing question in the community with a new vi- sion based on specialty housing. Examples of this are the Paseo Boricua Arts Building, which will provide live and work spaces for artists, and the Borinqueneers Vet- erans housing project at Norwegian American Hospital. Under the guise of progressive politics and good government, a wholesale attack was launched against the empowerment of our community. In this election veiled racist attacks launched against Ald. Maldonado by the supporters of Adam Corona were joined by the echoes of Juanita Irizarry’s followers (so-called progres- sives) who come into our community as the deliverers to save the Puerto Ricans and Latinos from the evil de- signs of incumbent Roberto Maldonado. These proved baseless, but more importantly, they were rejected by our community’s support for Ald. Maldonado.
Ald. Maldonado is looking forward to 4 more years of community driven growth and development. With his support, the Consuelo Lee Corretjer Daycare and Head Start program will soon be housed in the former Parent Child Center at 1345 N. Rockwell St. to serve the more than 100 pre-schoolers.
The Alderman has recently met with several business- es and banks to increase investment in Paseo Boricua corridor, as well as, to insure that three more business- es will open shortly. In his own words, Ald. Maldonado states: “I look forward to building on the work we have accomplished since I took office in 2009. Providing the best educational options for our children, keeping our streets safe, and encouraging economic development will make Humboldt Park and the 26th Ward one of the best places to live and work in the city.”
By Sergio Rolon
