here is the link and accurate qoute - Healy is vulnerable

"it is difficult to see where he will get his funding since most of the developers in Jersey City already got everything they wanted from Healy."

Quote:

That is a naive sentiment. The developers will hedge their bets. Besides, Schundler will raise money from people who don't have city (and county) contracts but want them.

The only person that I truly miss from the S. camp is Yessenia Correa that girl was so humble and so nice.

Now, SHE should run for Mayor!

Quote:


This hilarious on so many levels it's overwhelming.

Jersey City politics as usual I guess.

in Al Sullivan's Political Column in yesterday's JC Reporter, he commented that Brett Schundler will face fundraising challenges, because Mayor Healy has already given developers everything they want.....

June 27, 2008 - 11:56am

(Click on title for article with comments)

Schundler ally: he's running

By Matt Friedman

Category: LocalTags: Steve Fulop, Shelly Skinner, Sandra Cunningham, Jimmy King, Jersey City, Jerramiah Healy, Bret Schundler

Jersey City Heights businessman Michael Yun, a long time friend political ally of Bret Schundler, said that the former mayor and gubernatorial candidate will seek to reclaim the city's top office in 2009.

?He?s definitely going to run, yes, and we?re organizing,? Yun told PolitickerNJ in a phone interview this morning.

Schundler has spent the last couple weeks attending neighborhood meetings and asking local politicians for support, aided by Yun. He recently announced his mayoral intentions to a gathering of Hudson County Republicans at their reorganization meeting, though in less definite language.

Although some politicians who have been approached by Schundler allies have rebuffed his request for support, Yun said that Schundler is popular with the public.

?The response from the seniors and low income residents in Jersey City, they say ?Thank god Schundler?s coming back,? said Yun. ?How the other politicians and leaders think of him is not a big issue at this point ? he?s more consiereing how the people think and what kind of support he?s going to get from the public.

Yun said that Schundler is working on putting together a slate, but did not elaborate on who will join. Schundler?s supporters have recently made noise about an alliance with Ward E Councilman Steven Fulop.

Fulop could not immediately be reached for comment, but some of the local activists he?s close with have also been contacted about joining a Schundler slate and have refused.

Shelly Skinner, an education activist who plans to run for Fulop?s council seat regardless of whether he runs for mayor, said that Yun contacted to seek her support for Schundler.

?Bret doesn?t have my support. It?s certainly nothing personal, but I made it pretty clear to them that wasn?t a direction I was comfortable in going,? she said.

Skinner said that she wasn?t comfortable with Schundler?s conservative ideology, but more importantly, he?s been away from the political scene for too long.

?The Republican part is a piece of it, but the other thing is where has he been??

Jimmy King, a former parking authority head and council candidate who runs a his own civic association, was also contacted by Schundler. He made no commitment one way or the other.

?I?m open to support anybody. I?m waiting to see who actually is running and who?s going to do the most to cure some of our problems in Jersey City,? he said. ?Our crime, our streets are dirty, taxes. I?m waiting to see who?s on the right issues.?

Schundler, who has yet to make his bid official, could not be reached for comment.

The mayoral election is a non-partisan contest in this Democratic machine town. Also mulling bids against incumbent Mayor Jerramiah Healy are Steve Fulop, State Sen. Sandra B. Cunningham, former Assemblyman Lou Manzo and Assemblyman/former Acting Mayor L. Harvey Smith.

A moment with Bret, once and (maybe) future mayor

The Jersey Journal 's Politicial Insider
Saturday, June 28, 2008

Former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler is not cheap and he says he has the credit card bill to prove it. Oh, yeah, he says he is also busy building a grassroots effort to return to City Hall.

- If you don't want to read about Schundler's interesting response to a column about a meeting he had in a Jersey City restaurant that he says wrongly made him look bad, skip down to the paragraph that begins with the small black square where he begins to talk about why he decided to run for mayor. Otherwise, continue to the next paragraph and you don't have to go back to the Main Menu.

When last we discussed Bret, the once and (he hopes) future mayor met earlier this month with Sandra B. Cunningham and her political advisor Joe Cardwell at the Liberty House restaurant in Liberty State Park.

It was said that the group was seated behind some flora suggesting a clandestine session. Schundler wanted Cunningham's support and that when Cardwell said he would not get it, the reports were that the mayor stood, tossed $8 representing his share of the bill and excused himself. It was also noted that at some point, Mayor Jerramiah Healy ran into the group who may run against him next May and stopped to say hello.

Schundler had a different take on the event. First, yes there was a meeting. After that he supplied a different script.

He said he wanted to make the point that one should be careful who provides information. As the election approaches, he expects those who plan to run for mayor will escalate attacks on each other.

His concern was the perception people may get from the column anecdote of him tossing money on a table.

"I don't want people to think that I was acting truculent because I never threw any money," Schundler said. Truculent is an adjective meaning angry or pugnacious.

"What can you get there for $8?" he asked. Well, perhaps a Liberty House salad if you were watching your weight, I suggested.

The former mayor said the bill was more like $300 and that about six people were at the table - mostly all her people, including former Hard Grove Cafe owner Dominic Santana.

You picked up the tab for everyone, I asked?

Well, no. He had the plastic, and everyone else gave him the cash - that was probably tossed on the table. The words "frequent flier miles" flashed in my mind.

"And it wasn't behind plants," he added. "It was out on the patio, pretty much in view of anyone."

Schundler said Healy, and Councilman Peter Brennan, did join them at one point.

"It wasn't a short meeting, in fact Joe Cardwell and I stayed a bit after everyone left," Schundler said. Brandy and cigars? Wheeling and dealing?

He also suggested that Cunningham did not reject his request for support.

"She wanted to wait on who to support until September when she would decide on what she would do (as far running for mayor herself)," he said. Now, that's interesting.

C'EST MOI, C'EST MOI, 'TIS I

So. Why does Bret Schundler want to run for mayor of Jersey City again? What made him decide to return to Hudson County politics?

"I thought that by being mayor, I can make a difference in my community and serve my neighbors," he said in Hallmark fashion. The point is that he is a very credible candidate in what will be a heated municipal election.

After a career on Wall Street, the former all-state football player from Westfield was mayor of the city from 1992 to 2001. He left for an unsuccessful run for governor in 2001 and did not get the GOP nomination for governor in 2005. The question remains, why the need to be mayor again?

Since the 2005 gubernatorial run, besides getting involved in ventures that help organize political campaigns and other ventures, Schundler says he has been teaching public policy at The King's College, located in the Empire State Building.

When the Harvard graduate is not in Aristotelian exchanges with students, Schundler has been traveling overseas and lecturing foreign officials about government through university exchanges or the Manhattan Institute in response to requests and invitations by think tanks in other nations.

Mostly Eastern European visas are stamped on his passport. Just before last Christmas, he was in Poland at a conference involving a third of that nation's mayors. About a month ago, he was in Albania lecturing.

While teaching urban policy and lecturing on the principles of local government, Schundler felt it strange to be talking about it rather than practicing it. City Hall on Grove Street was looking good again.

NO SHINING CITY ON A HILL

How does he see the state of Jersey City government?

"What is happening is the city is moving back into machine politics," he said. "(City ) spending has has been averaging about 6.5 percent a year," said the former mayor. "I had it at 1.5 percent."

Schundler said the city budget is out of control because of patronage, what essentially lubricates a political machine.

"Promotions are more the function of who is the buddy of the mayor rather than by ability," he said.

And what of the claims of lower city crime rates?

"We had a lot more cops on the street," said the former mayor who added that those friendly with the Healy administration were more than likely to spend their time inside station houses.

"The murder rate is twice what it was when I was in office," said Schundler, who seems to be building up his campaign arguments.

The former mayor and gubernatorial candidate has been busy talking to other potential mayoral hopefuls about the upcoming election. Among them is Ward E Councilman Steven Fulop who - should he run - would draw from the same voting pool as Schundler. apparently, There can only be one from Downtown.

Most likely the talks are about talking the other guy out of running or potential coalition efforts to put together a slate of candidates for the City Council. Schundler said he is starting to rebuild his campaign organiation the way he has in the past, through grassroots effort.

"I've been talking to many community groups and I'll be visiting many more," he said.

Can he repeat his past success in this city? His last victory saw a great deal of support from the city's black and Hispanic voters. The question is whether they will go for him again.