Gerald McCann cannot be mayor of Jersey City, according to an opinion rendered by the city’s law department, but it’s expected the one-time mayor, ex-felon and hopeful mayoral candidate will continue to fight.
“The opinion is he cannot hold the office,” said Corporation Counsel Sean Connelly on Friday. “It’s unequivocal.”
Basing his opinion on the state law that prohibits candidates convicted of crimes of “moral turpitude” from holding office, Connelly said he recommended City Clerk Robert Byrne not certify McCann’s petitions, or signatures, that would place him on the city ballot for the May 8 mayoral election.
Whether Byrne will follow the recommendation remains to be seen.
The field of candidates remains wide nevertheless, with at least seven other candidates expected to run.
The McCann matter will almost certainly wind up in court, and could draw in the city’s law department, the city clerk and Joseph Krajnik, a local union president who said he would file his own suit attempting to block McCann’s run.
McCann ran Jersey City from 1981 to 1985, when he lost to Anthony Cucci. He won the office back in 1989. In 1991, a federal court in Newark convicted him of defrauding a Florida savings and loan bank and altering his tax return documents. He served two years and attempted a run in 1997, but a court blocked that attempt. Now that he’s trying to run again, said Connelly, previous case law – scant at best – tends not to favor the former mayor. He cited a 1992 Perth Amboy case in which a council candidate was found writing bad checks. A court determined that the individual was ineligible from holding office under the “moral turpitude” statute.
“If writing one bad check was [enough] to disqualify one candidate from a council seat,” said Connelly, a one-time McCann campaigner, “I don’t see how you can have Gerry hold office.”
In that case, however, the city clerk had already certified the candidate. Robert Byrne has not yet certified McCann’s petitions. He’s unsure of his next move.
Referring to McCann, Byrne said: “He indicated he was taking this to court. I told McCann I wouldn’t try to stymie his candidacy.”
Byrne said that McCann had indicated he would try to get a declaratory judgement on his candidacy from the state, but Byrne said, “I haven’t seen evidence from him, after several conversations.”
McCann attorney Sam DeLuca said he intends to file in court on Monday to get a declaratory judgement.
“I think this is a desperation move,” said McCann of Connelly’s determination. He said that perhaps political forces were behind it. He said that he hadn’t received official word of Connelly’s determination, but if Connelly did make it, “I will file a criminal complaint against him.”
McCann continued to argue that the voters should be the ultimate authority in determining the worthiness of the candidate, not the city.
Connelly fully expects to see McCann in court, but he is not confident of the result.
“Courts,” he said, “often construe election law very liberally.”
A few weeks left
Any candidate has up until March 15 to submit petitions. McCann submitted his relatively early, on Valentine’s Day, presumably to hasten the decision process.
Questions over McCann’s eligibility had been brewing for several months, and last week popped when Joseph Krajnik, president of local firefighters union, fired off a letter to the city clerk. In that letter dated Feb. 16, Krajnik said, “I understand that Mr. McCann is entitled to a second chance in life, but I am concerned as a citizen of Jersey City, that his desire to become Mayor of Jersey City is not possible under the existing laws within the State of New Jersey!” He encouraged the city to file a suit to determine McCann’s eligibility, or said he would file papers on his own on Feb. 20.
A check of Hudson County Superior Court on Feb. 23 found that no papers had been filed.
Krajnik did not return calls seeking comment.
Byrne had sent out a form asking candidates if they had been convicted of any felony. He said he has not received a reply from McCann.
As for the final certification?
“This is my call,” said Byrne. “The law department would have to back me, no matter what.”
Connelly, however, isn’t so sure of the clerk’s discretion in this type of certification. He said the clerk can disqualify a candidate with two few signatures or an improper address, but a convicted felon is another matter. “Yeah, he can disqualify a candidate,” said Connelly. “That’s a far cry from saying he can disqualify a candidate based on moral turpitude.”
Said Byrne: “I’m prepared to ask corporation counsel to get us into court to get some resolution.”
He is not sure what will happen next.
“The ball,” he said, “is in Mr. McCann’s court.”