In a letter to the editor, independent Bayonne 3rd Ward council candidate John Milan Sebik explains why he’s running in the non-partisan May 12th municipal elections.

Instagram photo.

I’ve lived in Bayonne, the majority of my life, both of my parents emigrated here from Slovakia and Western Ukraine. I attended Saint Joseph’s Catholic Grammar School and Bayonne High School.

I have attended Pace University, majoring in accounting and business management and finished up both my bachelor’s and master’s degree at New Jersey City University.

I started as a part-time worker for H&M International Transportation in Bayonne as a teenager and moved into management within a year. I stayed in logistics management for the next 20 years.

For the last 15 years, I’ve worked in a customer-facing role, helping seniors, the disabled, and many others who may need assistance. I love working with people.

I love getting to know the people I work with on a daily basis, understanding them, enabling them to capitalize on their strengths and working with them on weaknesses that both of us may discover so we can all have a great working relationship.

This skill set or art as I like to call it takes a lot and the only reason it takes a lot is that it takes time to understand one another. It’s a great feeling to know that any individual at any given time you could count on to pick up the slack and have your back.

This is the type of relationship I want to build with the residents of Bayonne.

This is the type of relationship to build with the Police Department, with the Fire Department, every Municipal Employee, who works for the City of Bayonne and every Single Resident who calls Bayonne home.

I’m running now, for Councilman because over the years I’ve seen how fake it’s become and it’s only gotten progressively worse over the course of the last 10 years.

Promises, promises, promises during campaign season, and then after that, it’s radio silence or minimal communication. The ONLY winners in Bayonne, the last 10 years are the developers and politicians who run with the ticket.

There is too much Groupspeak in Hudson County, and those who choose to be different are demonized for just having a difference of opinion. It is truly the Upside Down World of politics.

I was raised to believe that there is always a way to fix something or to help any given situation at any given time. This is the energy, this is the mindset, that I wanna bring to City Hall.

I’m running as an independent candidate because the only support I need is from the residents of Bayonne who wanna continue to live a better life here, who wanna continue to generate ideas on better ways that we, can make our city safer and flourish economically.

The best cities are created with a vision created from the input of its residents and professionals working together Not the chosen few.

In 2014, Bayonne had a massive turnout for the election, and that is because the residents demanded change.

I’m asking everyone to please support me, John Milan Sebik, 10C for your Third Ward Councilman.

You want different, you want genuine, I am that guy. No More status quo, photo-op representatives.

John Milan Sebik
Bayonne 3rd Ward council candidate