Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy announced his run for reelection on Thursday in front of more than 500 supporters at Hudson County Community College’s Culinary Arts Center. Healy was surrounded by a host of political all-stars, including Gov. Jon Corzine, Rep. Albio Sires (D-13th Dist.), Newark Mayor Cory Booker, and State Sens. Richard Codey and Ray Lesniak.
“We need to finish the change we’ve started and build on our successes.” – Mayor Jerramiah Healy
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Healy, who has been mayor since he won a special election in November 2004 (and then won the general election in 2005), spoke for over 10 minutes about his various accomplishments in office, including putting more police officers on the streets, devising a plan to redevelop Journal Square, and most recently, introducing “green” (environmentally friendly) practices for city government operations.
“Tonight, I’m asking for your support because I’m not done delivering change,” Healy said. “We need to finish the change we’ve started and build on our successes.”
Also present were several City Council members who may run on Healy’s ticket. The entire nine-member City Council is up for reelection with the mayor in May.
Those present included City Councilman Steven Fulop, who is actually a frequent critic of Healy’s. His presence was acknowledged by the mayor.
The announcement of Healy’s City Council slate is scheduled for Feb. 5.
Healy is the fourth candidate who has announced plans to run for mayor. The field includes former State Assemblyman Louis Manzo, former City Councilman L. Harvey Smith, and local activist Dan Levin. Also rumored to be considering a bid is State Sen. Sandra Cunningham, a one-time Healy supporter. She was absent from Healy’s event.
The Jersey City municipal election will be held on May 12, and the mayor and City Council will be sworn into office July 1.
Healy is their man
It looked more like a retirement party instead of a political rally. For guests arriving for the event, there were balloons, food, and a slideshow of Healy photos.
Once the announcement began, there were testimonials from various guests of honor, ranging from the poignant to fiery.
But it was clear from what was said that they want Healy to stay put, and they intend to help to get him elected for another four years.
Newark Mayor Booker called Healy his “older brother,” and pointed out that both have worked on the same issues. In fact, both men had been early supporters of President Barack Obama when he ran for office, whereas many local Dems wanted Hillary Clinton to get the Democratic nod.
“When you got a mayor where the president of the United States knows his name … you don’t let him leave office,” Booker said.
Corzine, who can probably identify with Healy because he faces reelection as governor this year – and will need Healy to get out the vote for him – praised Healy’s time in office. He said during Healy’s reign, violent crime in the city went down 23 percent. He also noted that several corporate firms from New York relocated across the river to Jersey City.
Healy’s daughter, Katherine, introduced her father, describing him as “an incredible asset to Jersey City and its future.”
Makes his case
Chants of “four more years” greeted Healy when he walked up to the podium.
During his speech, he invoked the slogan for his campaign: “Delivering Change We Can See.” He touched on what he has done as mayor, and outlined his plans if reelected.
He talked about his crime initiatives, claiming they have made Jersey City safer; mentioned revenue growth policies such as a hotel tax generating $6 million annually; and touted open space accomplishments and other achievements. He also said he had made up for shortcomings from past administrations, including a large structural budget deficit.
However, Jersey City’s budget for the current fiscal year has not yet been introduced yet, even though it was due five months ago. Meanwhile, the adopted budget for the last fiscal year, 2007-2008, was $463.9 million, an increase of more than $30 million from $432.6 million in 2006-2007.
Greater four years
“Delivering change you can see comes down to this – the city we love is a greater community than when I took office four years ago,” Healy said. “And with your help, it will be even greater four years from today.”
After his speech, Healy said in an interview that this mayoral campaign is different from his campaigns for office in 2005, 2004, and back in 1997 (when he lost in a runoff against incumbent Bret Schundler) because of the endorsements from the likes of Corzine, Booker, and other high-profile politicians.