Jerramiah Healy

Hudson County Republican Chairman Jose Arango supported Bret Schundler in his past gubernatorial bids, but whether he’ll support the former Mayor’s bid to return to Grove Street is an open question.

“I have to go to the Jersey City Republican Party and ask them what they want to do,” said Arango during a phone interview.

The mayoral elections in Jersey City are non-partisan, which made it possible for a Republican like Schundler to win in a crowded field in 1992. Now, with Schundler looking to run again, Arango finds himself with a tough decision. He’s the city’s Director of Economic Development, and has given significant campaign contributions to Mayor Jerramiah Healy, a Democrat.

But he’s also found Schundler to be a loyal ally in the past.

“Schundler always supported me, and I always supported him. I have to do what’s right for the people,” he said.

DENVER -- Already embroiled in the preludes to what’s certain to be a hold-no-punches mayoral battle next year, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy’s allies tonight at the Pepsi Center said they hope to be able to pull an Obama card before the May election.

Healy supported Barack Obama early on, though his endorsement is often overshadowed by Newark Mayor Cory Booker’s endorsement.

Does Healy want Obama to come campaign for him? Of course. But is that actually a realistic possibility if Obama becomes president?

Carl Czaplicki, Healy’s former chief of staff and the current director of the Department of Housing, Economic Development and Commerce, (and former executive director of the Hudson County Republican organization) thinks it’s not that far-fetched.

“I wouldn’t consider it a long shot. A number of times already he’s shown his willingness to come to New Jersey and Jersey City on two or three occasions,” said Czaplicki, who sat just a couple rows in front of State Sen. Sandra B. Cunningham, another prospective mayoral candidate.

Daniel Levin, founder and past president of Civic JC, a citywide good government organization, announced today that he is a candidate for Jersey City mayor.

"I am running for mayor of Jersey City as a clear and distinct alternative to both the past administration and current candidates," said Levin, who is challenging Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy.

"I will bring the public back into the decision-making processes of Jersey City government, lead a more open, transparent, responsible government accountable to constituents, reduce conflicts of interest through campaign finance and ethical code reforms, advance an alternative economic vision for the city that will provide needed jobs for our inner-city residents, and make Jersey City a better employer through sound management practices," Levin added.

He said in the coming months, he intends to build a coalition of reform-minded council candidates and run with a full council slate.

Former Assemblyman and potential Jersey City mayoral candidate Lou Manzo plans to air three commercials for his public advocacy office this month.

Two of the commercials explain the role and accomplishments of the office he set up last year, which occupies his old legislative office space. The other ad will take a critical look at Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy.

“I don’t know that it’s negative on Healy. It’s just pointing out that he’s not attentive to conducting business as a mayor and if you have a problem you can always get us.”

Ostensibly, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy and Ward E Councilman Steven Fulop are engaged in a polite exchange of ideas. In reality, the two are enmeshed an early battle for political positioning before next year’s mayoral race, with mutual contempt lurking barely beneath the surface.

Healy yesterday proposed an amendment to Fulop’s anti-pay-to-play ballot initiative that would, in effect, take it off the ballot in November if passed. Healy wants candidates to file financial disclosures. If they have a net worth of $2 million or make over $500,000 a year, he thinks they should be exempt from a ban on taking contributions from vendors that do business with the city.

Although Jersey City Municipal Clerk Robert Byrne has sided with the city against one of Councilman Steve Fulop’s ballot initiatives, the signatures for his anti-pay-to-play intiative were certified today.

But that initiative might not make it on the ballot after all if Mayor Jerramiah Healy has his way, depriving Fulop of a chance to make his case directly to the voters of Jersey City.

Healy wrote a letter today to Byrne, members of the city council and Fulop’s legal team proposing an amendment to Fulop’s pay-to-play initiative.

In the battle of the ballot initiatives, Jersey City Municipal Clerk Robert Byrne ruled against Councilman Steve Fulop today, deciding that a petition for an ordinance he wanted to put before voters in November that would bar council members from accepting more than one public salary did not have enough signatures to get on the ballot.

Fulop said today that he intends to challenge the decision in front of a judge.

“We’re going to fight. We think we have a strong standing on this, and we’re going to go to court,” he said.

Last week, Jersey City Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis filed an 11th hour challenge to Councilman Steve Fulop’s signatures to put one of his two reform initiatives on the ballot.

Today, Fulop shot back with by presenting his side of the legal argument to Municipal Clerk Robert Byrne, written by attorney and Brian M. Nelson.  He also submitted an extra 600 signatures. 

Fulop, who’s considering a mayoral bid next May, has spent the greater part of the last year collecting signatures for two initiatives for November’s general election: one bars contractors that do business with the city from donating to public officials.  The other, which was challenged by Matsikoudis, would bar city council members from accepting more than one taxpayer-funded salary (Six of the nine council members hold more than one public job, while Councilman Steve Lipski runs a charter school). 

The big race to watch in Jersey City next year is for mayor, but the politics of that contest are already spilling out into the legislature.

The recent buzz is that Jersey City Incinerator Authority CEO Oren Dabney is being positioned for an Assembly run in District 31 by State Sen. Sandra Cunningham, who herself is said to be considering a mayoral bid next year.

Reached for comment yesterday, Dabney wouldn’t commit one way or the other, but admitted that he’s mulling the possibility.

“I’ll do anything possible that’s going to benefit the city of Jersey City, period,” he said. “I haven’t made any decisions on anything at this point. So if anyone is giving information such as that I must be well-liked.”

Former Assemblyman Lou Manzo, a potential Jersey City mayoral hopeful for next year, thinks he might have a short cut to kicking Mayor Jerramiah Healy out of office.

Manzo plans to hire an attorney through his public advocacy office to review whether a judge’s decision that Newark Councilwoman Dana Rone should forfeit her office after her obsruction of justice conviction parallels that of Mayor Jerramiah Healy, who was convicted of disorderly conduct over a 2006 incident in Bradley Beach.

“My advocacy office is actually going to review it and see if it does apply. And if it does, we’re going to take a civil action on it,” said Manzo.