JERSEY CITY – Mayor Jerramiah Healy responded late last week to the recall effort against him with a lengthy statement. Recently, local residents John Lynch, Riaz Wahid, and Martha Larkins formed a committee last month to recall Healy and various City Council members and received approval to start a recall effort against him.
To learn more about the recall, see story in this weekend’s Jersey City Reporter in print or online (below).
Healy’s statement is as follows:
“We’ve worked hard to make this city better and continue to do so, and I would like to finish the job to which I was elected to do last year by a strong majority. Right now we’re very busy shrinking the size of city government due to drastic cuts in state aid and the reduction of other revenue into our city coffers, which has been coupled with increasing costs.”
“Additionally, we will point out that this administration has had many accomplishments including the following:
· In light of difficult economic times and cuts in state aid, my administration has instituted furloughs, a hiring freeze and the layoff of hundreds of city workers to offset property tax increases.
· Utilized grants to put more cops on the street, and instituted crime fighting tools such as CompStat to bring crime to a 30-year low.
· Is a founding member of Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s “Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition” and has instituted local gun laws that have been replicated at the state level, including the “One Gun a Month” bill.
Launched Operation Lifesaver, a gun buyback & amnesty program, which removed 897 weapons from the streets of Jersey City.
· Continue to attract development during international economic crisis and forced developers to use Jersey City workers.
· Fought for the creation of state legislation to allow Jersey City, which had previously been barred, from collecting a hotel tax. This 6% tax brings approximately $5 million into our city coffers annually.
· Ordered corporate polluters to clean up toxic sites which are being converted to green spaces, and commercial and residential development that will increase revenue to the city.”
· Paved 70 miles of pothole-ridden streets – the largest street resurfacing project in city history.”