Quote:

No.

Isn't Manzo barred from holding public office in some other New Jersey town? I thought I overheard this.

"One colorful and very expensive-looking mailer went out blaming Manzo for "Higher taxes. Higher crime. Fewer jobs. Dirty streets and parks."

Your first thought is why didn't we notice that Manzo was the mayor of the city?"

Whoever thought that mailer up must have had one too many at the Astor Bar. Next, lets blame Manzo as well as the other candidtaes for being in a distresed city while Healy campaign contributing developers keep lining their pockets.

Anybody ever wonder why developersgive so much money to Healy? Who's interests is he looking out for yours or theirs? It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out.

Healy is one to talk about tarnished reputations. There's no need for Manzo to try and tarnish Healy's reputation... he's so good at doing it all by himself, every time he enters a bar.

Its the Healy mentality. When you're drunk at the bar you keep buyin drinks till the wallet's empty. Change you can count-(I had a buck, but now I've only got 37 cents). You're taxdollars hard at work (if they ever do an audit). .

c'mon. if the "insider" were anymore "inside" the manzo pocket, we'd have to call him the manzider.

Healy has spent close to 3 million on his campaign (tax payer paid summer, spring mailers and construction/paving site signs not inlcluded). What's he afraid of? Manzo, Levin, Smith and Webb combined, haven't even come close to that figure.....

The Jersey Journal
May 2, 2009
By Agustin C. Torres
Excerpt from the Political Insider column


Healy is trying to tarnish Manzo's time in Trenton
Saturday, May 02, 2009

J ersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy is using some of his millions of dollars to hammer the man he apparently sees as his closest rival, Louis Manzo, with a new wave of mailers, flyers and letter writing aimed at trying to destroy Manzo's reputation as a legislator.

The blitz has raised some eyebrows. It begs the question that if Healy is so far ahead, why not go into cruise control and keep the election campaigning low key enough to put voters to sleep.

One colorful and very expensive-looking mailer went out blaming Manzo for "Higher taxes. Higher crime. Fewer jobs. Dirty streets and parks."

Your first thought is why didn't we notice that Manzo was the mayor of the city?

No, the mailer is accusing Manzo of "the old, failed politics." Doesn't that perfectly describe Hudson County? But it succeeds in getting people elected, so how much of a failure can it be.

What they are trying to say is that the mayoral hopeful was also a freeholder and actually gave contracts to vendors who also gave to his political campaigns. This theme goes on, and it makes one wonder.

If the Jersey City administration feels so strongly about this, why are they afraid to approve pay-to-play legislation? Why did the administration refuse to entertain this measure and other ethics reform legislation that Councilman Steven Fulop tried and failed to push through the City Council?

The most interesting attack was this: "Lou Manzo is actually remarkably ineffective at getting anything done. As a Trenton legislator, only 17 percent of the bills Manzo sponsored passed into law."

Consider these numbers about the Assembly. There are about 18 voting sessions each year in the Assembly. You figure out how many that is over four years and it will give you an idea how often you can get a bill through a committee and on the floor for a vote.

In Manzo's four years, he was a sponsor of 956 proposed bills, of which 165 measures became law. It is a good number, one many legislators cannot match. The number is prolific if you consider Manzo and Gov. Jon Corzine, both Democrats, are far from best buddies. It also goes to show how the use of percentages is a very poor way to make an argument.


The Jersey Journal
May 2, 2009
By Agustin C. Torres
Excerpt from the Political Insider column
www.nj.com/hudsoncountynow