The filing deadline for mayoral and city council candidates came and went last week, and two notable names were missing from the mix – one a surprise, the other one not particularly.
While reports and rumors had indicated that current mayor and gubernatorial hopeful Bret Schundler might make a last-ditch effort to reclaim the highest office in the city, those reports proved wrong. Schundler did not file petitions, effectively marking the end of his rule in Jersey City.
The real surprise came with current Ward F Councilwoman Melissa Holloway. The first to announce her candidacy for mayor last year, she filed neither petitions for mayor nor council.
Those who spoke anonymously said that Holloway had difficulty filling out a slate of candidates to run for office. She did not want to run, presumably, with a less-than-full slate. Holloway did not return calls seeking comment.
With the exception of Holloway, all nine of the current council members will be running in one form or another for city office.
Council members Tom DeGise and Robert Cavanaugh will run as mayoral candidates.
Also running for mayor will be former mayor Gerald McCann, about whose campaign there had been doubts, since he was once convicted of a felony.
There are a total of 70 people running for municipal offices.
The rest of the bunch
The rest of the mayoral hopefuls include former freeholder and mayoral candidate Louis Manzo, Department of Public Works Director Kevin Sluka, and former Council President Glenn Cunningham. One mayoral candidate past, former Judge Jerramiah Healy, will be running for an at-large council seat on the ticket of mayoral candidate Louis Manzo, who has also run for mayor before. Former Downtown Councilman Jaime Vazquez, a frequent critic of the current administration, is a Ward E candidate on Manzo’s ticket.
Candidates for mayor and City Council had until 4 p.m. Thursday to file their petitions to get their names on the ballot for the May 8 election.
Another notable is Terry Dehere, an at-large candidate on McCann’s ticket. Dehere, a former St. Anthony’s and Seton Hall basketball standout, is making his first run at elected office.
Nine Ward E (Downtown) candidates will be running for council seats. Eight Ward F (Greenville) candidates will make a run for council.
Ten independent candidates – those not aligned with a particular slate – will make a run at council. In all, 64 council candidates will be vying for 9 seats.
Winning the award for best slogan is independent at-large council candidate Ralph J. Notarmaso: “Blinded War Veteran Gets Things Done.”
The slates break out as follows:
Mayor: Louis Manzo – “The Manzo Team”
At-large: Jerramiah Healy
At-large: Angel Valentin
At-large: Yvonne Balcer
Ward A: Richard Freda
Ward B: Mary Donnelly
Ward C: Walter McDermott
Ward D: Maureen Corcoran
Ward E: Jaime Vazquez
Ward F: Tyrone Bates
Mayor: Kevin Sluka “Kevin Sluka and the Millennium Team”
At-large: Linda Mayo
At-large: Anthony Grazioso
At-large: Warren Curtis
Ward A: Ronald Hurley
Ward B: Angel Florentino
Ward C: Kevin Lyons
Ward D: Bethania Torres
Ward E: Raul Mercado
Ward F: Harold Ross
Mayor: Gerald McCann “McCann – One Jersey City”
At-large: Guy Catrillo
At-large: Judy Torres
At-large: Terry Dehere
Ward A: Kathleen Hartye
Ward B: James Catarella
Ward C: Eamon Nally
Ward D: Thomas Monteleone
Ward E: Antonio “Tony” Torres
Ward F: Jeffrey Dublin
Mayor: Thomas A. DeGise “DeGise: Keep Jersey City Moving Forward”
At-large: Rev. Fernando Colon
At-large: Flordeliza Medal
At-large: Veronica Drayton Sutton
Ward A: Peter Brennan
Ward B: Michael Manzo
Ward C: Stephen Lipski
Ward D: William Gaughan
Ward E: Noemi Velazquez
Ward F: Tyrone Chess
Mayor: Robert F. Cavanaugh, Jr. “The People’s Voice”
At-large: Angela Bruno
At-large: Russell Lewis
At-large: Greg Racelis
Ward A: Francis “Frank” Falcicchio, Jr.
Ward B: Vincent Frank
Ward C: Arnold Bettinger
Ward D: John Romano
Ward E: Nora Kallen
Ward F: Steven Pinkney
Mayor: Glenn D. Cunningham “The Cunningham Team”
At-large: Carl Czaplicki
At-large: Leonard Harvey Smith
At-large: Mariano Vega, Jr.
Ward A: Frank Checcia
Ward B: Mary Spinello
Ward C: Thomas Murphy
Ward D: James Carroll
Ward E: E. “Junior” Maldonado
Ward F: Viola Richardson
Independents:
Caroline Nelson: at-Large
Ralph Notarmaso: at-Large
Susan McKiernan: at-Large
Billy Field: Ward A
Douglas Salters Ward B
Geoffrey Elkind Ward E
Paul Schaeder Ward E
John Jayme Ward E
Frances Thompson: Ward F
Omar Barbour Ward F