Assemblyman Connors withdraws support from Mayor Healy, citing Hurricane Sandy response
JERSEY CITY AND BEYOND — Assemblyman Sean Connors, whose district represents part of Jersey City, as well as Hoboken and other local towns, announced on Monday that he is withdrawing support for Jersey City Jerramiah Healy’s re-election bid. He said he was a longtime supporter of Healy.
“I have come to the painful realization that it’s time for a change of leadership in Jersey City,” Connors said. “I endorsed Mayor Healy several months ago for re-election, but now realize that it is an endorsement that I need to retract.”
Connors said he made the decision after witnessing Mayor Healy’s “dismal performance in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. As the days following the storm wore on, Mayor Healy’s lack of leadership left many residents, literally, in the cold,” according to the release.
Connors called the mayor’s performance “simply inexcusable.” “When the ,mayor had an opportunity to step forward to lead this city, he stepped back. With the right person in the mayor’s office, this would never have happened.”
“One of the common complaints I heard from residents is that they lacked basic information,” he said in the release. “There are many ways that the city administration could have communicated with residents about where to get assistance, when power would be restored and whether it was safe to return to their homes.”
Hoboken election results expected
HOBOKEN – As of this past Tuesday, Hoboken was still waiting for the final results of its Nov. 6 elections for three school board seats and three public questions.
Hudson County Board of Elections clerk Michael Harper said Monday, “I have Hoboken’s provisional ballots in front of me as we speak. I’m shooting for Wednesday.”
The hold-up to produce final numbers was due to a few things. Presidential elections generally see higher numbers in turnout, for one. “People come out of the woodwork,” said Harper.
This was the first election where vacant seats on the nine member Board of Education were voted on in November rather than April.
Also, due to Hurricane Sandy, more people were able to vote electronically, and the deadline was extended to the Friday after the election. The Hudson County Board of Elections office was able to receive mail-in ballots up until Nov 19, so long as they were postmarked by Nov 5.
Due to Sandy-induced interruption in mail service, the office was still receiving ballots by the bins as late as Nov. 14.
“The only thing outstanding now are the provisional ballots,” Harper said. “There are probably 1,500 to 1,600, definitely the most provisionals I have ever dealt with.”
Aside from the three Board of Education seats hanging in the balance, a public question on rent control remains unanswered. The highly-debated question, which seeks to remove rent control upon the vacancy of a current tenant – permanently in some cases and temporarily in others – saw only a 531 vote difference. If the machine vote stands, rent control will not be eliminated.
The two other public questions on the ballot, which will move mayor/council elections from May to November and eliminate run-off elections, do not look like they can be overturned based on machine numbers.