Kearny Councilman Renato da Silva has announced his intention to seek the seat he was appointed to late last year permanently in 2024. He made the announcement early this week.
“Since assuming the Third Ward council seat upon Mayor (Carol Jean) Doyle’s election , it has been my privilege to serve the residents of the Third Ward and the Town of Kearny,” da Silva said. “The opportunity to actively participate in the issues and policies that affect the citizens of our town is a tremendous responsibility. I am dedicated to the full and independent transparency that is the foundation of successful democratic governance. For these reasons that I am announcing my candidacy for election as Third Ward Council.”
The new councilman faces a challenging road ahead — but he says he’s ready for it.
He is the second candidate to officially announce he’s running in the June primary, the other being Fred Esteves, the brother-in-law of former Kearny Mayor and state Superior Court Judge Alberto G. Santos.
In addition, it is possible other Democrats could run for the seat. And if recent history tells us anything, it’s possible a Republican candidate under Sydney J. Ferreira could run. And there have been rumblings, also, of possible unaffiliated candidates.
No matter what happens, the winners of the Democratic and GOP primaries would then square off in November against the any potential unaffiliated candidates. The winner would then serve through 2025, and then be up for re-election yet again that year.
“I am a long-term resident of Kearny, an alumnus of (the) Kearny High School Class of 1988, a homeowner on Hamilton Avenue, an active member of Arlington Players Club, a prior candidate for the (Kearny) Board of Education, married to Dawn Haberthur and the proud father of Martin and Adrian,” da Silva said. “It has been my honor to serve as your Third Ward Councilman and with the upcoming election, I will run to continue to work and serve the balance of the term vacated by Mayor Doyle.”
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Kevin A. Canessa Jr. is the editor of and broadcaster at The Observer, an organization he has served since 2006. He is responsible for the editorial content of the newspaper and website, the production of the e-Newspaper, writing several stories per week (including the weekly editorial), conducting live broadcasts on social media channels such as YouTube, Facebook, and X, including a weekly recap of the news — and much more behind the scenes. Between 2006 and 2008, he introduced the newspaper to its first-ever blog — which included podcasts, audio and video. Originally from Jersey City, Kevin lived in Kearny until 2004, lived in Port St. Lucie. Florida, for four years until February 2016 and in March of that year, he moved back to Kearny to return to The Observer full time. Click Here to send Kevin an email.