The mayor of Englewood was carrying the tripod for our photo shoot down the steps of city hall, despite our protestations that we could carry it ourselves.
Most people picture mayors being followed around by aides and flunkies as he or she makes policy decisions for the hoi polloi. But the mayor of Englewood isn’t your typical mayor. In fact, Mayor Michael Wildes, a frum Jew, is a hands-on kind of official, someone who has been known to do things like picking up a dead skunk from a constituent’s backyard when she wasn’t getting anywhere with the authorities. He also holds weekly meetings at which anyone can drop in to discuss municipal issues and problems.
Michael is clearly a popular guy. He served as the city’s mayor from 2004 through 2010, when he chose to leave office, then he ran again in 2018 and 2021 and won both elections. In fact, he is the longest-serving mayor in Englewood’s history—and he just extended his term by winning a fifth term in office, trouncing an opponent who had “Free Free Palestine” (yes, “Free” twice) printed directly on the ballot. Part of Michael’s appeal is his concern for the nitty-gritty issues faced by the city’s residents, but his humility and sincere desire to serve the public most certainly play a role.
What makes all of this even more interesting is that his day job isn’t one we usually associate with being humble: he’s a high-profile attorney.
Father and son
When it comes to showcasing the clients that have been represented by the law firm of Wildes and Weinberg, P.C., the décor in their Englewood offices isn’t subtle. Floor-to-ceiling custom wallpaper shows images of some of their most famous clients, including one who put founding partner Leon Wildes in the history books: the musician John Lennon, whose deportation by the United States government was successfully halted by Mr. Wildes.
Leon Wildes passed away earlier this year, and sitting in the office of his son Michael, a visitor can see the massive image of Leon Wildes and John Lennon as a metaphor for the outsized role that his father played in Michael’s life. Throughout my recent visit to Englewood, accompanied by Ami photographer Dov Lenchevsky, Michael made repeated references to his father’s work and accomplishments. He is still within the first year of aveilus, and it is clear that he misses his father both as a mentor and personal hero.
The desk in Michael’s office used to be his father’s. “In the beginning, I couldn’t bring myself to actually use it. I sat off to the side, out of derech eretz for my father.” He told me that sitting at his father’s desk helps him connect to his memory. “It’s a big zechus to try to fill his shoes. I’d be lucky if I could fill even one, considering what he achieved in his lifetime.”
Judging by the walls, however, Michael Wildes has a long list of accomplishments in his own right. The many photos of his clients include some very well-known people, ranging from rabbanim to celebrities to political figures. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the former chief rabbi of the UK, was a former client; Rabbi David Pinto is current one. He has represented Saudi dissidents, a mother fighting to get her children back from an Arab country, and a man who took down a terrorist on an international flight.
Ami readers may recall from a previous interview with Michael that he was the immigration lawyer who represented Melania Trump and her parents; the American citizenship of both the wife and in-laws of President-elect Donald Trump are thanks to him. He has also served as President Trump’s lawyer with regard to immigration issues for Trump’s many businesses. There are multiple photos of Michael and his family members with the Trumps adorning the walls. And he is once again representing Melania in a fight with the Department of Homeland Security, which released the immigration records of Melania’s mother to a Freedom of Information Act request, including private and medical information, which Mrs. Trump believes was improper on the part of the DHS.
But if I had harbored any stereotypes about high-powered lawyers and their rich and famous clientele, Michael managed to dispel them within minutes of meeting him. I got the distinct impression that his position as mayor of Englewood entails a lot of work and little recompense. He’s also a member of the local chevrah kaddisha as well as Hatzalah; later in the day, when we were traveling in his car, he checked in with Hatzalah to see if he was needed after an incident on the George Washington Bridge.
He showed us that he keeps two yarmulkes in his office. One says “Rosh Ha’Ir,” for when he’s operating in mayor mode; the other says “Papi,” for when he’s just another Jewish grandfather in the community. The many hats Michael Wildes wears are both literal and metaphorical.
A long trajectory
“I was raised in a home in which chesed was important,” he told me. “My brother is a rav, but I was more drawn to public service. I was an auxiliary police officer for ten years, wearing an NYPD uniform with a kippah that said ‘Officer Mike.’ I ended up interning on Capitol Hill in 1984 for Congressman Gary Ackerman and Geraldine Ferraro, who was running for vice president at the time. I later went to law school.”
It was at Cardozo Law School where Michael was introduced to the woman who would become his wife—who was a student in his father Leon’s law class. (Michael would eventually take it over and continues to teach it; two of his own children and one of his sons-in-law have been his students.)
“I became a federal prosecutor for four years with the US Attorney’s Office in Brooklyn,” he recalled. “I deported a lot of bad people.” Four years later, in 1993, he joined his father’s law firm, dealing with immigration from the “other side” of the courtroom, representing clients fighting against federal prosecutors.
His legal practice, however, didn’t keep him away from politics.
“I ran for Englewood’s City Council in 1998 and served for two terms. Then I ran for mayor and served for two terms. Then I retired.”
Ten years later, he changed his mind and has since been elected to another three terms as mayor.
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