Jersey City voters chose Sen. Jon Corzine for governor over opponent Doug Forrester by a vote of nearly five to one on Tuesday, giving him 30,310 votes to Forrester’s 6,139.
In Hudson County, which some county Democratic leaders have referred to as “Corzine Country,” he won by a more than three to one, and statewide, the new governor claimed 54 percent of the vote.
But how does a Corzine victory benefit Jersey City government and residents?
Mayor Jerramiah Healy was at Corzine’s side during his many campaign stops in Jersey City earlier this year, and even grew a beard to show solidarity with Corzine. Will that translate into more state aid for pressing local issues such as homeland security and the municipal budget?
“Corzine is a Hudson County resident; he lives in Hoboken, and he is very familiar with what goes on in Jersey City,” Healy said.
The two have a developed a friendship over a specific situation – the cutting of federal Homeland Security funds.
Jersey City saw its funds slashed from $17M to $6.4M, a decrease of over 60 percent. Healy, during his run for mayor last November and again in the spring, railed against the cuts, noting the city’s proximity to Lower Manhattan.
Healy found a kindred soul in Corzine, who was a vocal critic of the federal government’s homeland security funding formula, especially cuts to major urban centers like Jersey City and Newark.Other local races
Corzine’s wasn’t the only victory being cheered on Election Day as local candidates for State Assembly and freeholder won easily in their respective races.
The winners for State Assembly districts 31, 32 and 33 – all of which includes parts of Jersey City – were Louis Manzo and Charles Epps (31st District), Joan Quigley and Vincent Prieto (32nd District), and Albio Sires and Brian Stack (33rd District).
Manzo, Epps and Quigley are Jersey City residents.
The freeholder victors for the Jersey City-based District 2, 3 and 4 were Bill O’Dea (Dist. 2), Jeffrey Dublin (Dist. 3) and Eliu Rivera (Dist. 4). All three ran unopposed.
The State Assembly and freeholder winners celebrated at a gathering at Casino-In-The-Park restaurant on Election Day.
The candidates thanked their supporters for helping them in a hard-fought victory. What do they want of the new governor?
Supporters of Corzine offered their views on Tuesday night at Casino-In-The Park after Corzine gave his victory speech at 10:45 p.m. They offered a myriad of suggestions on what they want to see Corzine accomplish as the state’s 53rd governor.
Victoria Parks, a resident of Ninth Street in Downtown Jersey City, was looking forward to the new governor tackling issues pertaining to working families “There needs to be more aid for our educational system, and also more aid for daycare,” said Parks, a working mother of three.
Amy, a bartender at the restaurant who chose not to give her last name, looked forward to seeing how Corzine deals with stem cell research. Nascent stem cells have potential to develop into many different cell types in the body. Scientists want to use them in experiments to see if can help cure an array of illnesses, but the research is controversial because some are taken from unused human embryos.
“I am really for that, and I want to see it pushed strongly by Corzine,” Amy said. “I believe it is so important.” The day after the election, residents were still talking about it.
Stephanie Daye, a Greenville resident, was coming out of the Grove Street PATH Station Wednesday night.
“I didn’t research Corzine’s entire platform, but based on what I have heard, I hoped he will accomplish what he promised to do as governor,” said Daye. Finding Forrester from the trees
Doug Forrester made some appearances in Hudson County during his campaign. Included was a stop in Jersey City at the Puerto Rican Heritage Parade in August and in Union City in October to lend his support to State Assembly candidate Richard Valdes, who was running for the 33rd District seat, and freeholder candidate Mirta Cairo. But it was hard for him to make inroads into the Democratic stronghold. Even with Republicans reminding voters of corruption indictments of various Democratic politicians statewide, they still believed in the relatively unblemished Corzine, a former CEO of Goldman Sachs.
Jersey City resident Jose Arango, chairman of the Hudson County Republican Party, said last week that Forrester’s campaign didn’t make enough inroads into Hudson County.
“Forrester should have traveled more into Hudson County, and really courted more Hispanics and African Americans,” said Arango. “Everybody thinks that minorities vote only for Democratic candidates, but there are issues that the Republican Party stands for – lower property taxes, government reform, and better education – that resonate with minority families.”
Arango also cited the infamous TV ads Forrester put out during the campaign of quotes from a New York Times interview with Corzine’s ex-wife where she criticized her ex-husband. Arango also pointed to the growing unpopularity of President George W. Bush.
However, Arango added, “I can go around blaming everybody, but I have to take full responsibility for Forrester not doing well in Hudson County.” Another take on the governor’s race
Does Jon Corzine have aspirations beyond the governor’s race? That’s the theory of Alain (pronounced Allen) Sanders, a professor of American Politics at St. Peter’s College in Jersey City.
“Here you have Corzine, who is going from a very powerful position as U.S. Senator where he operated in a very low-key manner, to becoming New Jersey governor, where he will be highly visible,” Sanders said. “Why would he want to shift to a job where he will be so much more in the spotlight? It’s possible he is testing the waters for a higher position. He may be sticking his neck out for the presidency down the road.”
The next presidential election is in 2008, which would be impossible for Corzine unless he leaves his term a year early – but there is 2012 and beyond.