Wilkin Santana

 Ward 4 challenger Kisha Manning. 

PATERSON - Shrugged off by the incumbent as too aloof to feel the pain of the 4th Ward, Kisha Manning smiles and shakes her head.

She was born here and grew up here.

"I even get my hair done and my nails done here," she says with a laugh.

Her school record at William Paterson University and subsequent success as a revenue officer with the Internal Revenue Service don’t diminish the roots, or the lifelong street cred Councilwoman Vera Ames-Garnes claims Manning lacks to maneuver in a city that has been under state-control for 18 years.

PATERSON - Supporters of Councilwoman Vera Ames-Garnes give their reasons for helping to elect the 23-year veteran of the Paterson City Council.

Ward 4 Councilwoman Vera Ames Garnes with supporters, from left, Dwight Sutton, Samuel Groce and Al Barino 

PATERSON - A man on a cellphone behind the wheel of a car with New York plates turns a pair of red eyes toward the formidable-looking woman suddenly shouting at him and jabbing her index finger at him.

"Hey, home boy," bellows Councilwoman Vera Ames-Garnes. "Stay off my streets!"

The man floors it, and seconds later a Paterson patrol car streaks past in another direction.

"They’re going the wrong way," mutters Ames-Garnes, throwing her minivan in gear and tearing after the police. She pulls her vehicle up onto the sidewalk alongside the patrol car where it’s now idling in the middle of the road next to an unmarked car facing the opposite direction.

PATERSON - Spanish teacher Wilkin Santana, 27, hopes to unseat long-serving Ward 4 Councilwoman Vera Ames-Garnes.

Wilkin Santana in the 4th Ward. 

PATERSON - Wilkin Santana turns left on Rosa Parks Boulevard and hits the gas into the heart of the 4th Ward. He sees foreclosure signs on front doors and gangs standing on sidewalks who look at him when he drives past.

"You have open drug dealing going on here," says Santana, shaking his head as he guns the engine. "You’ve got crack houses. Abandoned buildings. This is her record. I believe if you have 23 years to try to fix the neighborhood, you’ve had enough."

His reference is to Councilwoman Vera Ames-Garnes. This is her neighborhood. It’s also Santana’s ward, which is why he’s running against Ames-Garnes.