Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

The heated race for Jersey City?s Ward A City Council seat led to relatively big turnout in that ward in last week?s runoff elections.

Ward A saw more voters participate in that race than in the four other ward council races, with 3,481 Ward A voters coming out on June 11, according to unofficial elections results from the city.

That?s a bit more than half the number of Ward A voters who came out on May 14.

Former police chief Frank Gajewski ended up victorious in Ward A, winning 60 percent of the vote to former school chief Charles T. Epps Jr.?s 40 percent.

The Ward D race, which pitted Assemblyman Sean Connors against Central Avenue business owner Michael Yun, saw 3,235 voters, followed by 3,018 voters in the Ward C race, where Councilwoman Nidia Lopez was fending off a challenge from retired Jersey City cop Rich Boggiano.

Yun and Boggiano were ultimately successful those races.

The June 11 runoff elections, which also saw a contested race in Ward B and five candidates vying for three at-large positions, saw far fewer voters than the May 14 election. Only Mayor-elect Steve Fulop and Ward E Councilwoman Candice Osborne won enough votes on May 14 to avoid a runoff.

17,955 voters went to the polls last week, compared to 39,640 who voted in the mayor?s race on May 14.

The unofficial results from the city do not include write-in votes.

In Ward B, only 2,032 voters came out to choose between Khemraj ?Chico? Ramchal and Esther Wintner. Ramchal won 74 percent to 26 percent.

There was an uncontested race in Ward F, where incumbent Councilwoman Diane Coleman faced no challenger after her runoff opponent dropped out of the race.

In the at-large race, where five candidates were running for three open slots, there was a dropoff of about 4,000 votes for the three winners. Incumbent Councilman Rolando Lavarro, Daniel Rivera and the Rev. Joyce Watterman finished in first place with about 11,000 votes each, compared to about 15,000 votes each on May 14.

Except for Boggiano and Yun, every winner on June 11 is aligned with Fulop, who will become mayor on July 1 with a 7-2 majority on the council.

Watterman, the top vote-getter in both elections, nabbed 11,587 votes on June 11. In the May 14 race, she won 15,170.

The lack of a Ward E council race definitely ate into Watterman?s vote total. On May 14, she won 4,424 votes in Ward E alone, compared to only 1,980 on June 11.

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If Healy had done it, you would have called for his head.

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Yeah it's like voting the whole Fulop ticket instead of mixing up the council.

oh my god, you mean he set up transition teams with people who he doesn't agree with on everything? diversity of opinion? god forbid. I like the old style...just surround yourself with self-serving friends and neighbors.

Yes, he has a guy he doesn't agree with and the current NAACP president on transition teams. The horror. I have 0 problem with him getting input from them, that's part of the job. You're not going to be able to function in Hudson County if you exclude every marginal character from talking to the mayor.

If he puts them on staff get back to me.

Well it didn't take too long for Saint Fulop to switch to full politician mode.

Glad, I didn't vote for him or Healy.

http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index ... s_for_transition_tea.html

Fil-Am wins full-term seat in Jersey City council

By Don Tagala, ABS CBN North America Bureau
Posted at 06/15/2013 2:27 PM | Updated as of 06/15/2013 2:27 PM
JERSEY CITY, New Jersey - Rolando Lavarro did it again. The first Filipino-American to win a seat in the Jersey City Council in 2011, wins his second Council-at-Large seat in this week's runoff elections.

Mayor-elect Steve Fulop's team of candidates -- Joyce Waterman, Daniel Rivera and Lavarro got about 15,000 votes each -- that's 17% of all votes in the runoff election.

"It's really a victory for all the Jersey City residents and it's truly a victory for Filipino-Americans in Jersey City, Filipinos came out in droves, vote and let their voice be heard, their presence be felt," Lavarro said.

Jersey City voters, including kababayans who fondly called themselves "Fulop-inos" got behind team Fulop, that now has a 7-2 majority of the nine-member body.

"It's great because the community is so welcoming and warm, so I view myself as not quite Filipino but maybe 'Fulopino,' so there you go," Fulop said.

Numerous Filipino-Americans volunteered to make phone calls and house visits and distributed campaign materials to help Team Fulop win big and make way for what they call a new breed of politicians in Jersey City.

"It shows, from now on, the political bigwigs of Jersey City will have to recognize that Filipinos is a power base," Jersey City Attorney Victor Sison said, adding "this time the Filipino community stood up for one man."

"Steve definitely knows how to pick a team that represents Jersey City as whole, and it's very positive for the city moving forward," Council-at-Large Elect Daniel Rivera said.

Voter turnout was about 30 percent of the 138,911 registered voters.

"That means that more than 70 percent of our population isn't interested in voting because they weren't moved to come to the polls," Lavarro said.

"We still have a lot to do in Jersey City to restore the trust and confidence in residents."

Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal
Jersey City Mayor-elect Steve Fulop raised some eyebrows this week when his office released what it called the full make-up of Fulop?s transition team.

Most of the names on the 11 committees raised little stir. Schools Superintendent Marcia V. Lyles heads the recreation/education committee. Jeremy Farrell, the attorney Fulop has tapped to be the city?s next corporation counsel, chairs the legal review team.

Committee membership isn't just for Fulop allies. Dan Levin, who lost his bid for the Ward E City Council seat on May 14, will sit on a committee dedicated to reviewing city departmental operations.

But Fulop supporters and critics alike are questioning some other moves, like naming NAACP President William Braker to the public-safety committee. Braker, a former Hudson County Freeholder, pleaded guilty in 2004 to accepting bribes from a county vendor and was sentenced to 41 months in prison.

On the same committee is Larry Mone, president of conservative think tank the Manhattan Institute, which is a strong supporter of New York City?s controversial stop-and-frisk program. Fulop said he opposes stop-and-frisk at the Lincoln High School mayoral debate in April.

One concerned reader said there is ?an undercurrent of conservatism/right-wing shadows? on the transition committees.

Fulop spokesman Bruno Tedeschi defended the committees, saying the mayor-elect?s goal is to have ?differing views from strong Democrats to strong Republicans.?

?We are one city, not a party,? Tedeschi said. ?It would be a disservice to the citizens of Jersey City if Mayor-elect Fulop only had ?yes? people on the transition.?

He added that Braker is on the public-safety committee in his capacity as NAACP president.

?Any past infraction is not relevant to his service on this committee,? Tedeschi said. ?If the members in the NAACP can elect him to be their president, Mayor-elect Fulop is not one to judge.?

Asked to respond, Braker told The Jersey Journal he would resign from the committee to keep news of his 2004 guilty plea out of the paper. He said he?s ?tired? of his name being ?dragged through the mud.?

?I?ve led an exemplary life since this incident,? said Braker, a retired police lieutenant. ?It?s totally unfair.?

The transition team is chaired by Freeholder Bill O?Dea, an early Fulop supporter, and state Sen. Sandra B. Cunningham, who didn?t endorse in this year?s mayoral race. Committees focus on budget/financial operations, executive recruitment and real-estate.

The teams will disband when Fulop becomes mayor on July 1.

Jersey City insiders ponder why Fulop win wasn't a Fulop sweep

By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal
June 13, 2013 at 4:44 PM

Jersey City Mayor-elect Steve Fulop?s campaign was a juggernaut that helped him defeat the entire Hudson County political establishment and win six City Council races in landslide victories.

But Fulop?s well-funded, well-oiled machine wasn?t enough for a complete council sweep. Two of his running mates, Councilwoman Nidia Lopez and Assemblyman Sean Connors, came in second place on May 14 and lost again in Tuesday?s runoff, each by more than 10 percentage points.

What happened?

Most political observers credit the aggressive campaigns of retired Jersey City police detective Rich Boggiano, who defeated Lopez in Ward C, and Central Avenue business owner Michael Yun, who won in Ward D over Connors.

But a handful blamed Lopez and Connors themselves.

BOGGIANO ?A LOCOMOTIVE?

In Lopez?s case, some Fulop loyalists were annoyed when she recruited some Healy allies to work on her campaign following her May 14 loss. Others say there may have been a kernel of truth behind Lopez's reputation as a councilwoman who doesn't respond to constituents.

?Technology and her don?t really see to eye to eye, and that really burned her," said one person with knowledge of the Fulop campaign, who added that Boggiano was ?a locomotive? during the campaign.

Freeholder Bill O?Dea, one of the few high-profile elected officials who endorsed Fulop over Healy, agreed, saying Boggiano ?didn?t stop running? after his loss in the 2011 at-large special election.

The Ward C councilman-elect has a base of voters who have long known him and respect him, O?Dea said, adding that on May 14, Boggiano had as many campaign workers on the street as Lopez.

?Nidia was never able to penetrate into that base,? he said.

Lopez, who was first elected to the council in 2009, said she thought going into the campaign that she had a good chance ?because I?d done good work.?

?I went for it and he came out the winner,? she said.

She added that she?s not bitter about her defeat.

?I am more than happy to work with Richie,? she said.

CONNORS NOT ?INVINCIBLE?

Fulop insisted on Tuesday night that he was upset over Lopez?s and Connors? losses, saying he wanted them on the council even as some of his supporters were somewhat relieved.

Lopez never caught on with some the true Fulop diehards, while Connors, once thought to be a dream mayoral candidate, was considered a threat.

Fulop said this campaign was not good for incumbents, and Lopez and Connors were seen as the establishment.

?There was a sentiment for change,? he said at his victory party at Liberty House on Tuesday.

Former mayor Gerry McCann, who worked hard to get Connors elected, was brutally honest when asked about his friend?s loss.

?There?s nobody to blame but himself,? McCann said. ?Sean went into the original race with the idea that he was invincible. He kind of took it for granted.?

Connors, a police detective whose one term in the state Assembly ends in January, disputes that notion. He said he worked ?150 percent? to win the council seat, but faced a campaign that had ?a lot of resources and finances.?

Yun had ?monies that we couldn?t catch up with,? Connors said. ?We were like a cat chasing its tail.?

At the end of May, Yun had about $51,000 in his campaign account, while Fulop?s entire team raised only about $16,000 for the runoffs.

Connors said his loss isn?t going to drive him out of public service, but McCann thinks otherwise.

?I think Sean Connors ended his political career tonight,? he said after returns came in on Tuesday. ?How do you come back from that??

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... p_sweep.html#incart_river

Jersey City voters got behind Team Fulop, which won six of the eight races, including all three council at-large seats, in yesterday?s council candidate runoff elections.

When Mayor-elect Steve Fulop successfully ousted Mayor Jerramiah Healy just shy of a month ago, only one of the nine Council seats were decided, leading to one of the stranger runoffs in Jersey City history. Of the remaining candidates in the runoff, which pit the two highest vote-getters in any race where a candidate didn?t receive over 50 percent of the vote, four simply opted not to bother running.

Most of the candidates running on Fulop?s slate emerged victorious. Joyce Watterman (with 27 percent of the vote), Daniel Rivera (26 percent) and Rolando Lavarro (25 percent) took the at-large seats, winning over Sean Connelly and incumbent at-large councilwoman Viola Richardson.

Lavarro, also an incumbent who served as at-large councilman for the past 19 months, says he believes his work in regards to public safety, budget issues and a living wage ordinance may have helped carry him to victory, but credits citywide support for Fulop as the deciding factor.

?Our whole team under Steve Fulop as mayor can put forward a real vision for Jersey City,? Lavarro says. ?We have a platform that addresses most basic issues like public safety, quality of life, education and taxes?.We have a vision of making Jersey City the best city in nation and we have plans to back that up.?

Watterman, who is a Reverend at the Continuous Flow Christian Center which she co-founded, credited a higher power for her victory. ?As councilwoman at-large, I will work hard for the people of Jersey City to have a good quality of life,? she says. ?I?m going to be working hard for the people.?

Other Fulop-backed winners include Frank Gajewski in Ward A, winning 60 percent of the vote versus former schools superintendent Charles Epps Jr., who was backed by Mayor Jerramiah Healy; Chico Ramchal in Ward B with 73 percent over independent Esther Wintner; and Diane Coleman in Ward F, who was unopposed. Ward E, which covers mostly Downtown Jersey City, was already definitively won in the May elections by Fulop?s candidate Candice Osborne, meaning Fulop has a strong majority on the council with seven of nine council seats.

Ward C and Ward D, however, went to independent candidates with strong community ties?former police detective Richard Boggiano and Central Avenue Special Improvement District (CASID) president Michael Yun, respectively. Boggiano took Fulop-backed incumbent Nidia Lopez with 55 percent of the vote; Yun won over another Team Fulop member, Sean Connors, with 56 percent.

A total of 18,611, only 13 percent of the city?s registered voters, came out for yesterday?s elections. See a complete breakdown of yesterday?s election results.

Matt Hunger contributed to this report

As far as I am concerned, they could be blue space aliens with tails, as long as they are not corrupt or incompetent.

I really want to see the first 100 days is a clean sweep of every no-show or overpaid job handed out to supporters of the old regime.


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Yes that combined with the old educated, informed, voting sect prevailed.

Once again the new educated, informed voting populous of Jersey City prevails. Over the last 10 years 15K more residents have moved here and over that same time period the median house income has shot up an extra 18K, outpacing Brooklyn.

Good news for sure. A thorough rejection of Healy and friends.

Jersey City mayor-elect solidifies control of City Council

By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal
June 11, 2013 at 9:50 PM

Jersey City Mayor-elect Steve Fulop is getting his Election Day wish tonight, with enough of his allies winning City Council runoff elections to secure Fulop a majority on the nine-member body.

Fulop?s team of at-large candidates, as well as his candidates in Wards A, B and F won tonight?s runoff elections, giving Fulop a 7-2 majority on the council. Fulop?s candidates in Ward C and D lost their races.

?We did it, we did it, we did it,? said an ebullient Ward F Councilwoman Diane Coleman, who ran without opposition in today?s election. ?We?re going to rock City Hall.?

With most precincts reporting, Fulop's team of at-large candidates ? Councilman at large Rolando Lavarro, Daniel Rivera and the Rev. Joyce Watterman -- each have about 8,000 votes each, compared to about 3,600 for Councilwoman at large Viola RIchardson and roughly 2,500 for attorney Sean Connelly.

Meanwhile, Fulop?s Ward A candidate, former police chief Frank Gajewski, won a decisive victory over former schools chief Charles T. Epps Jr., while council aide Khemraj ?Chico? Ramchal defeated activist Esther Wintner in a landslide in Ward B.

Coleman had no opponent in her race.

?We?re looking forward to executing our agenda,? Fulop said tonight at the Liberty House. ?There?s no time to waste.?

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... council.html#incart_river

Great news!!

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It's a 7- 2 Fulop ticket win with the 2 being independents. So there are no Healy leftovers.
Also it is a very diverse ticket representing the city in many ways.
3 White
2 Asian
2 Black
1 Hispanic
1 West Indies

Not only is getting the majority a big deal for Team Fulop, but just as important IMHO is ousting Richardson & blocking Epps. The people have finally gotten engaged to get behind some change. Let's do this!

I would put Boggiano as a reformer and not part of the old machine, so not a loss for Fulop. It is pretty much a clean sweep of the old guard.

Michael Yun... still mad at him for helping kill the Super Stop N Shop which would have been walking distance from my place.

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Yes! He only lost the Heights and The Square.

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Yes. And Yun & Boggiano are independents so my hope is that they are both intelligent, reasonable people who will hash things out to get the best solutions for the people of Jersey City.

Epps gone, Richardson way behind and highly unlikely. This evening is getting better by the minute. It's gonna get interesting for the next few years, and that's a good thing. 30 years here and FINALLY we might actually have local government and representation that does what's right for us all, not just themselves and their family members and "friends" (paid or otherwise) ...

So Fulop has a majority on the council right?
So far so good....

Last Updated: June 11, 2013 9:04 PM
Registration & Turnout
139,304 Voters
Vote Count Percent
Election Day Turnout 12,485 8.96%
Mail-In Turnout 656 0.47%
Provisional Turnout 0 0.00%
Emergency Turnout 0 0.00%
Total 13,141 9.43%

Jersey City Council-At-Large
127/181 70.17%
Vote Count Percent
NP - Viola S. RICHARDSON 1A 3,691 12.25%
NP - 0 0.00%
NP - Joyce E. WATTERMAN 3A 8,105 26.90%
NP - Daniel RIVERA 4A 8,016 26.60%
NP - Rolando R. LAVARRO Jr. 5A 7,822 25.96%
NP - 0 0.00%
NP - Sean M. CONNELLY 7A 2,498 8.29%
Total 30,132 100.00%

Jersey City Ward A Council
12/34 35.29%
Vote Count Percent
NP - Charles T. EPPS Jr. 1B 518 43.42%
NP - 0 0.00%
NP - Francis ''Frank'' GAJEWSKI 3B 675 56.58%
Total 1,193 100.00%

Jersey City Ward B Council
29/33 87.88%
Vote Count Percent
NP - Khemraj ''Chico'' RAMCHAL 1B 1,446 73.48%
NP - 0 0.00%
NP - Esther WINTNER 3B 522 26.52%
Total 1,968 100.00%

Jersey City Ward C Council
28/31 90.32%
Vote Count Percent
NP - Nidia R. LOPEZ 1B 1,117 43.40%
NP - 0 0.00%
NP - Richard BOGGIANO 3B 1,457 56.60%
Total 2,574 100.00%

Jersey City Ward D Council
22/29 75.86%
Vote Count Percent
NP - Sean CONNORS 1B 1,070 41.51%
NP - 0 0.00%
NP - Michael YUN 3B 1,508 58.49%
Total 2,578 100.00%

Jersey City Ward F Council
19/31 61.29%
Vote Count Percent
NP - Diane COLEMAN 1B 1,014 100.00%
Total 1,014 100.00%

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YESSSSS!!!!

But why would he bow out with only 12 districts reporting in thus far?

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Epps Lost, he just gave his concession speech at his Martin Luther King Drive headquarters.

I think this is going to be an interesting council, congratulations to all the winners! Bravo!

I'm very worried for Ward A if Epps wins.

Results as of now...Fulop wins big so far...Boggiano and Lopez in a dead tie!

Last Updated: June 11, 2013 8:33 PM
Registration & Turnout
139,304 Voters
Vote Count Percent
Election Day Turnout 1,308 0.94%
Mail-In Turnout 0 0.00%
Provisional Turnout 0 0.00%
Emergency Turnout 0 0.00%
Total 1,308 0.94%

Jersey City Council-At-Large
13/181 7.18%
Vote Count Percent
NP - Viola S. RICHARDSON 1A 295 8.87%
NP - 0 0.00%
NP - Joyce E. WATTERMAN 3A 927 27.87%
NP - Daniel RIVERA 4A 965 29.01%
NP - Rolando R. LAVARRO Jr. 5A 907 27.27%
NP - 0 0.00%
NP - Sean M. CONNELLY 7A 232 6.98%
Total 3,326 100.00%

Jersey City Ward A Council
0/34 0.00%
Vote Count Percent
NP - Charles T. EPPS Jr. 1B 0 0.00%
NP - 0 0.00%
NP - Francis ''Frank'' GAJEWSKI 3B 0 0.00%
Total 0 0.00%

Jersey City Ward B Council
3/33 9.09%
Vote Count Percent
NP - Khemraj ''Chico'' RAMCHAL 1B 87 60.42%
NP - 0 0.00%
NP - Esther WINTNER 3B 57 39.58%
Total 144 100.00%

Jersey City Ward C Council
5/31 16.13%
Vote Count Percent
NP - Nidia R. LOPEZ 1B 189 50.00%
NP - 0 0.00%
NP - Richard BOGGIANO 3B 189 50.00%
Total 378 100.00%

Jersey City Ward D Council
0/29 0.00%
Vote Count Percent
NP - Sean CONNORS 1B 0 0.00%
NP - 0 0.00%
NP - Michael YUN 3B 0 0.00%
Total 0 0.00%

Jersey City Ward F Council
1/31 3.23%
Vote Count Percent
NP - Diane COLEMAN 1B 171 100.00%
Total 171 100.00%