I think that we would all agree, both supporters and detractors, that Jerramiah Healy is indeed a "gem."

A genuine rhinestone all polish no value.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker: Mayor Healy a "gem"

by Amy Sara Clark / The Jersey Journal
Wednesday April 22, 2009, 5:59 PM


Newark Mayor Cory Booker, left, endorses Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy on the steps of City Hall on April 22, 2009.
Behind them are Healy's council slate, clockwise from left, Guy Catrillo (Ward E), Councilman Mariano Vega (at-large), Councilman Phil Kenny (Ward B), Councilwoman Willie Flood (at-large), Councilman Bill Gaughan (partial photo, Ward D), Nidia R. Lopez, (Ward C), Councilman Peter Brennan (at-large) and Councilwoman Viola Richardson (Ward F).

Newark Mayor Cory Booker endorsed Mayor Jerramiah Healy for reelection today calling him a hidden treasure that Jersey City voters may be taking for granted.

"People, I don't think, really realize the gem that they have," Booker said in an interview after a news conference announcing the endorsement this afternoon.

"I see it by comparing him to other mayors and how active they are. He really has become a leader in our state for progressive change and I'm grateful for that."

During the news conference Booker praised Healy as "a passionate leader in public but also in private" who, in his fight to get guns off the street, has made the region safer, and who has "a direct line" to President Barack Obama thanks to his early support.

"I know this guy," he said after the event. "I've seen him in coalition meetings. I've seen him on different issues, and he's a solid working-class mayor. He just gets it done."

"More importantly," he added, "on the bigger issues that affect us all, fighting against the bad trends: illegal guns and violence in communities, and finding new solutions to old problems, he's really a model."

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