PERTH AMBOY — A mayoral debate hosted by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Perth Amboy Area Chapter, will be moderated by the Toni Zimmer at 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 18 at Perth Amboy High School on Eagle Avenue.
Zimmer is the New Jersey League of Women Voters president and all six candidates are expected to participate, according to the Rev. Milton Lester, president of the Perth Amboy NAACP chapter.
Mayor Wilda Diaz, who defeated former Mayor Joseph Vas in 2008, is struggling for a second term with council-at-large candidates Lisa Nanton and Fernando Irizarry due to a lackluster record that includes five tax hikes in four years and a $50 million increase in bonded debt.
She is being challenged by Billy Delgado, the unsuccessful Vas challenger in 2004, who is running with council-at-large candidates Jose Santos and Ana Maria Mascenik.
“If you don’t have support, you can’t make changes by yourself,’’ said Lester, who noted that four mayoral candidates — Sharon Hubberman, Robert McCoy, Miguel Morales and Frank Salado — do not have city council candidate slates.
