Jersey City’s top lawyer plans to leave City Hall

JERSEY CITY — Jersey City Corporation counsel Bill Matsikoudis is planning to leave the post by the end of July.
Matsikoudis confirmed in a recent phone call that he is leaving but said that the plans are not “concrete.”
Matsikoudis, 38, has been head of the city’s law department since November, 2004 when he was named to the position by Healy, a family friend.
Since then, he has earned accolades for his dogged litigation against corporations such as PPG and Honeywell to bring about the remediation of chromium contamination on sites across Jersey City. Yet he has been criticized for negotiating settlements such as the one with the owner of 111 First St. building in downtown Jersey City that allowed for over $76 million in fines for a developer to be forgiven.
He did not offer many details on his future plans since his leaving is not official, only to say that he plans to travel and is looking to work at a private law firm.
When asked this weekend about Matsikoudis, Healy said he was “aware” of him looking to leave his job, but would not comment until there is an official notification from Matsikoudis that he is stepping down.
However, his plans to leave were not a surprise to several unnamed city sources, who said Matsikoudis made it known that he would be leaving in the summer.
One source said that Matsikoudis is leaving so he can pursue a longtime goal of running for political office. – RK