Felix Roque

Felix Roque
Roque at a September 19, 2012 Board of Commissioners meeting at West New York City Hall
Mayor of West New York
Incumbent
Assumed office May 17, 2011
Preceded by	Silverio Vega
Personal details
Born	Cuba
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Residence	West New York, New Jersey
Alma mater	Universidad Central del Este
Occupation	Physician

Felix Roque is a Cuban-American medical doctor,U.S. Army Reserve colonel, and Democratic Party politician who is the current Mayor of West New York, New Jersey. The five-person slate he led defeated a slate headed by Mayor Silverio Vega in the May 10, 2011 general election and his running mates chose Roque to serve as the town's mayor. Subsequently to this, his allegiance with Commissioner Count Wiley, who had previously helped him unseat Vega, soured, and Wiley was his chief opponent in the May 2015 election, which Roque won.

In 2012 the Hudson Reporter named him #50 in its list of Hudson County's 50 most influential people. In 2013 he was ranked #57, and in 2014 he and Deputy Mayor Silvio Acosta were tied for #30.

Felix Roque arrived from Cuba in West New York when he was 11 years old. He has a sister, Aida, and a brother, Jorge, who was a plumbing supervisor for the Union City Housing Authority. Jorge died of a heart attack in the morning of January 8, 2012, at the age of 51.

Dr. Felix E. Roque emigrated from Cuba with his family at the age of 11 and attended Harry L. Bain Elementary School in West New York. He joined the United States Army in 1976, and currently serves a Colonel and Commander of the 4215 Combat Support Hospital in Richmond, Virginia. He completed a four-year Anesthesiology and Pain Management fellowship at Mt. Sinai Hospital, New York. Roque formerly served as the Director of Pain Management at both Palisades Hospital and St. Mary's General Hospital in Passaic, New Jersey.

On June 9, 2009, Dr. Felix Roque, along with 20 West New York residents and supporters, filed a petition with the West New York Town Clerk to recall the then incumbent Mayor Silverio Vega and his team of Commissioners. The movement that would become known as Together We Can focused on dissolving the alleged corruption that was happening in the Town of West New York. For nearly a year, Dr. Roque and a growing number of supporters of the group began campaigning for the recall of Mayor Vega and his Commissioner team while declaring he would indeed run for Mayor in the upcoming Mayoral election. On April 27 and 28, 2010, the official court proceedings took place. Judge Maurice Gallipoli dismissed the case on a technicality, as Roque's campaign had not collected sufficient signatures for the recall.