JERSEY CITY – While an official announcement is still weeks away, accountant and long time activist Dan Levin has made a commitment to running in the May 2013 City Council race.
“I’ve made the commitment to do it,” Levin said Wednesday. “I don’t see anyone out there who’re going to advocate and work towards the things I think the city needs.”
Levin, who recently sold his Ward E home located downtown, said he would either run for the council’s Ward E seat or he may run for an at-large seat.
Which seat he runs for will, he said, be contingent upon where he moves once the sale of his current home is finalized.
Levin previously ran for Jersey City mayor and last year ran for an at-large seat on the council.
Well-known and highly regarded throughout Ward E, Levin could be the candidate to beat if he remains in his current ward.
Only one announced candidate, Candace Osborne, is running for the Ward E seat at this time, although other candidates might join the race. Osborne is running on a slate with 2013 mayoral candidate Steven Fulop, the current Ward E incumbent.
The council at-large race is already shaping up to be a more competitive one.
Two of the council’s at-large incumbents, Rolando Lavarro Jr. and Peter Brennan, have already stated their plans to run for reelection. Brennan, an ally of Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy, will be running on the mayor’s 2013 reelection slate. Lavarro is running on a slate with Healy’s challenger, Councilman Steven Fulop. Viola Richardson, the council’s third at-large
incumbent, is also expected to run for reelection.
Levin said he will make a formal campaign announcement in August or September, during which he said will also detail his campaign platform.
Although Levin has run independently in the past he said he would not rule out running on a major slate next year.
“I’d be interested in joining a ticket that I shared some goals and values with,” Levin stated. – E. Assata Wright