A debate with Jersey City mayoral candidates will take place on Wednesday, April 1 at 1 p.m. at the Loew’s Jersey Theatre, 54 Journal Square in Jersey City. The debate is open to the public and doors open at 12:30 p.m. The debate will be moderated by radio host Pat O’Melia, Ricardo Kaulessar from the Hudson Reporter, and Agustin Torres and Earl Morgan from the Jersey Journal.
However, Mayor Jerramiah Healy (see photo) has opted not to appear at the debate, which will feature mayoral contenders Louis Manzo, L. Harvey Smith, Dan Levin, and Phillip Webb.
In a letter sent this past Thursday from Healy’s campaign manager, Bud Demellier, to the debate’s organizer, O’Melia, Demellier said Healy will particpate in various debates and forums during the campaign season, but he will give “first priority to attending debates that are sponsored by respected, fair and unbiased orgainzations and that reach a broad audience.” He said that “given the enormous demands of serving as mayor of this great city,” he chose not to attend this one.
O’Melia said he will take the rejection as a “badge of honor” if he is the person that “unfair and biased,” but he will also step out the debate if that will get Healy to come.
The debate will be taped and broadcast on Comcast Channel 190 in Jersey City from mid-April to Election Day on May 12. — Ricardo Kaulessar