And now it’s down to two.
When the polls closed Tuesday at 8 p.m., 38,252 souls had finished casting their ballots for mayor, and the decision had been made: Glenn Cunningham and Tom DeGise will face off on June 5.
Out of a pack of five hopefuls, neither man picked up more than 50 percent of the vote, so these top two vote-getters go to a run off, a scenario expected by most election watchers.
Cunningham, a former U.S. Marshal and former council president, led the candidates with 34 percent of the vote, followed by DeGise, the current council president, who garnered 24 percent. Louis Manzo, a former freeholder who led a spirited campaign for office, lagged DeGise by some 1,600 votes. He ended up winning 20 percent. Council candidates also will go to a run-off .
In one of the more up-in-the-air races in a number of years, DeGise held off Manzo, who, on Election Day, even hired a plane with a banner to promote his campaign. Both Department of Public Works Director Kevin Sluka and Councilman Bob Cavanaugh polled well behind the rest of the pack, garnering 9 and 7 percent of the vote, respectively.
Cunningham and DeGise did not surprise pundits by taking certain wards. Cunningham took predominantly African-American Ward F (Bergen-Lafayette) by an overwhelming 82 percent margin and DeGise took Ward D (the Heights), but by a smaller margin, only 42 percent. Cunningham showed strong numbers there and in Ward E (Downtown), out-polling DeGise by 2,352 votes to 1,779.
Cunningham took four of the city’s six wards: A (Greenville), B (West Side), and E and F. DeGise won wards C (Journal Square) and D.
Election Day voters saw a blank spot on their ballots where a name had once been. Gerald McCann, the former mayor and convicted felon was removed from the ballot in March when an appeals court forever disqualified him from holding public office in the State of New Jersey. McCann had been convicted in 1991 in a bank fraud case that stemmed from his involvement on a project in Liberty Marina.
The race’s dynamics now change somewhat. DeGise and Cunningham will jockey for the other candidates’ voters, and which failed candidate supports which survivor might have an impact on the outcome. For instance, Kevin Sluka, a supporter of Mayor Bret Schundler and a seemingly natural DeGise ally, visited both victory headquarters on Tuesday night. It now appears Sluka will back DeGise. The other candidates, as of press time, had not made up their minds on endorsements.
The race pits two men with differing views of the city’s future, and voters will now have a better chance to inspect both in depth.
Differing views
DeGise is an unabashed supporter of the tax abatement incentives given to developers who build in Jersey City. Cunningham said he plans to re-evaluate the abatement awarding procedure so that it will, he asserts, more directly benefit people and neighborhoods in the city. He remarked that some abatements, like the one that nabbed Goldman Sachs, were “too generous.”
The two candidates also differ on issues such as crime (Cunningham would remove the newly installed crime cameras in the South District, DeGise would keep them) and schools. Cunningham would agree to a moratorium on charter school construction; DeGise believes they serve a vital function.
Cunningham, who ran and lost for mayor once before in 1989, would become the first black mayor of the city were he to win.
Cunningham celebrated at the Harborside Atrium and clasped hands with a throng of supporters. In a later interview, he hammered on his campaign platforms of crime prevention, affordable housing and “taking financial control back from the state.”
He has the backing of both the county, as well as many state figures, like Congressman Robert Menendez (D-Union City) and former Senator Frank Lautenberg.
Yet the tenor of the campaign may shift somewhat, and racial politics could become an even bigger factor. Cunningham was infuriated at the DeGise campaign for running a newspaper ad that he said darkened his image, obscured his U.S. Marshal star pin and “cut off his ear.”
“DeGise will take the low road,” said Cunningham. “I’ll take the high road and take it to City Hall.”
At his victory celebration at Casino in the Park, DeGise disputed that assertion and lobbed some verbal grenades of his own.
“I called him ‘Mr. No Show,'” he said, referring to that same ad that also questioned Cunningham’s attendance record at council meetings, “and he called me a racist.” He later added, “Whenever the going gets tough, Glenn plays the race card.”
DeGise noted of his current job: “I’m a guy who teaches at Snyder High School,” (DeGise works as a career counselor at the predominantly black school), “and [Cunningham] lives in a gated community.”
Some supporters noted disappointment in DeGise’s tactics in the campaign, and DeGise admitted the tone had become harsh, but he quipped, “Jersey City campaigns are not pillow fights.” He said he will continue to speak on issues like taxes, education and crime.
DeGise had picked up the endorsement of outgoing Mayor Bret Schundler, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor. DeGise is running on the Schundler record of the past eight-and-a-half years.
Both DeGise and Cunningham have raised over $700,000 each for the first leg of the campaign. They will now need more.
Cunningham said he intends to unite the city in his campaign.
“Whoever wins this election,” he said, “has to appeal to everybody in the city.”
Council candidates
No council candidate polled more than 50 percent of the vote, so like the mayoral candidates, they will tussle in a run-off on June 5. Following is a list of the top finishers who will appear on the June 5 ballot followed by the votes they garnered on the first ballot. Results are unofficial.
At-Large (6 candidates for 3 slots):
1) L. Harvey Smith – 9,036
2) Mariano Vega – 8,205
3) Carl Czaplicki – 7,151
4) Jerramiah Healy – 6,911
5) Rev. Fernando L. Colon, Jr. – 6,318
6) Flordeliza Medel – 5,674
Ward Candidates (2 candidates for 1 slot):
Ward A (Greenville)
1) Frank Checchia – 1,278
2) Peter Brennan – 1,246
Ward B (West Side)
1) Mary Donnelly – 1,530
2) Michael Manzo – 1268
Ward C (Journal Square)
1) Steve Lipski – 1,136
2) Arnold Bettinger – 1,034
Ward D (Heights)
1) William Gaughan – 1,883
2) Maureen Corcoran – 1,159
Ward E (Downtown)
1) E. Junior Maldonado – 1,460
2) Jaime Vazquez – 985
Ward F (Bergen-Lafayette)
1) Viola Richardson – 2,832
2) Omar Barbour – 973