Legal developments over the last few weeks have made it extremely unlikely that former mayor Gerald McCann will be on the ballot in this election.
McCann Campaign Headquarters on 350 Warren St. was eerily quiet on a recent morning.
Manager Jack Shaw had left the building, leaving only the candidate himself to answer the phones.
“RING!” chirped the phone on the conference table.
“Headquarters,” McCann said, as he cradled the phone in his hand and pressed a button. There was nothing. “Must have gone into voice mail,” he said. He hung up.
“RING!”
“Headquarters,” he repeated. Again nothing. “RING!” Same result. He hung up and muttered.
“I don’t know how to work these phones,” he said.
The phones were a lost cause, along with – it now appears – the campaign. On Friday, the state Supreme Court put a dagger in McCann’s chances when it refused to rehear a case that he hoped would allow him to run again for mayor. The decision comes more than three weeks after the Supreme Court initially ruled to uphold an appeals court’s ruling that said McCann could never again hold office as the result of a 1991 bank fraud and tax evasion conviction.
Neither McCann nor his attorneys could be reached for comment Friday on this development.
McCann served two terms as mayor, from 1981 to 1985 and 1989 to 1992. In 1991, he was convicted of bank fraud and tax evasion stemming from a failed venture with a Florida savings and loan. He served a little more than two years, and tried another run at mayor in 1997.
But Superior Court Justice Arthur D’Italia ruled that McCann’s status as a federal parolee blocked him from running. D’Italia however, ruled this year that McCann could run, but was reversed on appeal.
McCann is also seeking a spot for State Senate in the 31st District.
Though his name is off the ballot and the McCann signs only dot a few houses around Jersey City now, the former mayor continues to attend forums and talks a good fight.
He believes abatements need to be re-examined but not eliminated.
“Abuses should be curtailed,” he said, “but at the same time, [abatements] shouldn’t be eliminated entirely.” He contends, “Take LeFrak [the developer of Newport]. LeFrak doesn’t need an abatement.” He sees the need for breaks for businesses in Journal Square and luxury lofts that won approval last year on the city’s West Side.
Many, including those in the current administration, credit McCann for jump-starting the waterfront development in the 1980s by bringing over Wall Street back offices and privatizing the Jersey City Medical Center.
With Schundler’s MLK Hub project, a shopping plaza on Martin Luther King Drive, McCann would have first invested in housing, not commercial space. “They were looking for a trophy,” he said of the current administration. “I would look for substance.”
With the police, whom some candidates claim suffer from low morale, McCann is circumspect.
“I think the cops exaggerate,” he said, then added: “They never take the blame when the crime rate goes up, but they take the credit when it goes down.”
He believes the best way to attack the crime and drug problem is to improve the school system.
“Who’s committing the crime?” he mused. “Most of them are dropouts.”
Charter schools are not the answer for McCann. “Most of these charter schools, to date, have shown me they’re not doing the job,” he said. “They’re feel-good schools.” Yet, he reconsidered. “Should we give them time? Yes, we should.” He said incentives should be given to encourage teachers to live in Jersey City. “The most dangerous time in Jersey City is three o’clock,” he explains, “that’s because the teachers are rushing to get out of here.”
He would look to stop the ticketing of cars for minor parking infractions, which he believes unfairly targets residents in this parking-starved city.
For minorities, McCann argues he has the track record to represent the diverse city.
“I’m the one who put all the minorities in positions,” he said, reeling off the names Willie Flood, Bobby Jackson and Nidia Davila-Colon, among others.
He is dismissive of the other candidates.
“Glenn’s a cop, DeGise is a teacher, Manzo’s a lackey, and I taught Cavanaugh at Snyder.”
His track record on affordable housing, he argues, overshadows others in the race.
As far as the argument that he should bow out of the race because he is a convicted felon, McCann disagreed, and continues to this day to dispute the charges.
“Since there are not any ideal people, they’re going to elect people with flaws,” he said of voters. “In the history of this country, there’s never been a perfect candidate and there never will.”
He added: “People are political. A person could hate me. But if I do something that’s beneficial to them, they’d love me. That’s what politics is all about.”
McCann’s council slate
Guy Catrillo (at-Large)
Chairman of the Jersey City Historic Preservation Commission, Guy Catrillo served as Deputy Superintendent of Elections in Hudson County and was an Executive Producer and Music Segment Producer for Fox Television’s MAD-TV. He is the chief advisor for the Apple Tree House, a national landmark in Bergen Square, vice president of the Dante Alighieri Society, is a board member for the Kennedy Dancers, was a co-founder of the Coalition for Fair Taxation and past president of the Van Vorst Park Association.
Suzann McKiernan (at-Large)
McKiernan is the director of the Kearon-Hempenstall Art Gallery. She is a consultant and project manager for Destination: Jersey City, a tourism street sign program slated for Jersey City. McKiernan is a commissioner on the Jersey City Historic District Commission, is co-chair of the small business committee for the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce, and a recipient of the FDR Award for Outstanding Leadership from March of Dimes. She is a graduate of New Jersey City University.
Terry DeHere (at-Large)
A graduate of St. Anthony High School and Seton Hall University, DeHere, a Randolph Avenue resident, is a developer and real estate investor. He is the founder of Jersey City Anti-Handgun Foundation, and has refurbished and helped with the upkeep of the Garfield Avenue Basketball Court. He is a sponsor of the Jersey City Summer Program. DeHere played basketball for the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings and Vancouver Grizzlies in a career that ran from 1993 to 1999.
Kathleen Hartye (Ward A)
A lifelong resident of Jersey City, Hartye is a graduate of Ferris High School. She was a committeewoman for 15 years in Ward A and a trustee of the Jersey City Development Corporation. She is a trustee and benefactor of the Jersey City St. Patrick’s Day Committee and in 1998 was named Irish Woman of the Year. She is a certified nurse and EKG Technician.
James Catarella (Ward B)
A teacher of Hudson County School of Technology, Catarella is a treasurer of the Catarella Brothers Ice Cream Company. He is a graduate of Dickinson High School and New Jersey City University. He is a first-time candidate.
Eamon Nally (Ward C)
An investigator of new recruits in the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, Nally attended St. Aloysius High School and Hudson County Vocational High School. He was a painter in the Jersey City Department of Public Works, and is president of the Highland Avenue Community Block Association.
Thomas Monteleone (Ward D)
A Sergeant at the Hudson County Correctional Facility, Monteleone has served as a two-term Vice President of the Policeman’s Benevolent Association Local 109. He is a graduate of Public School 27 and Dickinson High School. He is a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.
Antonio C. Torres (Ward E)
Torres is a funeral specialist at Michalski Funeral Home. He is a graduate of Ferris High School, a past president of the Paulus Hook Tower Tenant Association, an active member of SHAG (Self Help Amputee Group) of New Jersey and past president of the Puerto Rican Day Parade Committee for Jersey City.
Jeffrey Dublin (Ward F)
An 11-year employee of the Hudson County Roads Department, Dublin is the co-chairman of the Jersey City branch of ACORN (Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now), a three-term Democratic committeeman. He is a member of the Westside and Bergen Avenue Community Patrol. Dublin is a graduate Lincoln High School.