i find it funny that all of a sudden people on this list are all "well the jersey journal supports Manzo, so he must be right".... because every other day on this website, all everyone does is bash the journal for lame journalism and poor writing!


and seriously, is it any surprise they backed manzo? they are consistantly anti-healy in their coverage.

Please come out and vote today.

As the Jersey Journal wrote on their front page last Saturday,when they endorsed Louis Manzo,they believe the municipal election is so important to the future of Jersey City they decided to put their opinion out front.

Whoever you choose to vote for the most important thing to do is get out and cast your vote.Remember that in order for any one candidate to win on Tuesday May 12th they have to get 50% + 1 vote.If not achieved then it goes to a runoff election in June between the two highest vote getters.The more votes that are cast for any of the candidates opposing the current mayor the harder it will be for him to win this Tuesday.


In my opinion I feel that Louis Manzo has by far the best chance of unseating him and has the qualifications needed to get the job done. My impression of him is that he is a workaholic(as the Jersey Journal remarks) and I think that is what is needed now.http://www.manzoteam2009.com/

Others here support Levin who is also a impressive candidate with good ideas.

So the bottom line is come out and vote your choice.

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While everyone has the right to vote for any candidate they want a vote for any other candidate would have the effect of being a vote for Healy :End quote

Not if enough people vote for the other candidates! A revolution might be in the offing. Vote your choice

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I agree with you that given the selection of candidates that Manzo would be the best choice and has the best chance of unseating Mayor Healy. While everyone has the right to vote for any candidate they want a vote for any other candidate would have the effect of being a vote for Healy as it will detract from the votes his closest challenger sort of like a Ross Perot vote. However; I do support their right to cast that vote and hope that they come out to support Mr Manzo after the runoff.

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I respect your choice of candidate but I would look past superstitions and concentrate more on content.

As the Journal writes I agree that the other candidates looking to replace Healy are worthy but I happen to think Manzo is the best choice for the job.On this site you find good arguments for the other candidates in particular Levin.

All of these candidates are for transparent government which I believe is currently lacking.The Journal recognized this in all the challengers.

I particularly like the bottom line analysis the Journal makes about Manzo being a workaholic.That's a good word for anyone looking to be Jersey City's next mayor because we need someone who is going to give 24/7.

Whoever your choice for mayor is I hope to see a very large turnout on Tuesday May 12.It's a credit to our country that we can discuss these issues here and make our own personal choices that impact our direction.Many people before us have made that possible for us.

Yay! The journal endorsement is the kiss of death, as manzo himself will tell you!

Jersey Journal
Editorial
Saturday, May 9, 2009



WE ENDORSE LOUIS MANZO FOR JERSEY CITY MAYOR
Saturday, May 09, 2009
T he Jersey Journal endorses former Assemblyman Louis Manzo for mayor of Jersey City.

From the Manhattan side of the Hudson River, people can see the shiny, growing skyline of Jersey City. It reflects wealth and the city's growth. For those living behind all the waterfront development, it is a facade.

Over two decades of new construction and many investment, insurance, and banking institutions moving to Jersey City, local residents have hardly benefited. During the current administration, they have received tax increases, few improvements in their neighborhoods, a rising fear of violent crime, and a sense that there is little empathy for them in City Hall.

While there are many residents who believe their neighborhoods have been neglected, a true test of any administration's service to its people is how it deals with the people in Greenville and Bergen-Lafayette, and specifically Ward F, probably the most ignored voting district in the city.

On the ward's side streets, people are taking care of their homes, making repairs, landscaping as they would in any neighborhood. The problem is that the commercial districts and main streets have been in a state of disrepair for decades. Criminal gangs have been allowed to control some parks and street corners.

After a recent fatal shooting at Triangle Park, the city's response was to remove the park benches. Angry local residents were in disbelief. It speaks volumes about how the administration "solves" its problems.

Even in the more affluent Downtown there is disappointment. The Powerhouse Arts District changed from a planned neighborhood of low-to mid-rise structures into one of tall glass and steel towers that will bring more profit returns to developers.

These are just some of the many reasons that this newspaper agrees with President Barack Obama's call for a change - and endorses Manzo.

Manzo received The Journal's endorsement the last time he ran for mayor, in 2004 to fill the remaining months of the late Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham's term. It was his fourth unsuccessful shot at the office, and he lost to Healy. Voters have a chance to correct that mistake.

While every mayoral candidate, including Downtown resident and CivicJC founder Daniel Levin, Assemblyman Harvey Smith, and police Detective Phillip Webb, agree that crime is a major issue, Healy stubbornly insists city residents are wrong for being afraid to walk city streets. The mayor keeps quoting a statistic that crime is down 24 percent, which he credits to his gun buy-back program and other public safety policies.

Manzo and neighborhood organizations have urged the city to use a state-recognized program called Operation Ceasefire, which has reduced crime in several other urban municipalities. At a public session in Christ the King Church, on Ocean Avenue, Healy admitted using only "parts" of the program, and then promised to implement it all.

More community policing, recreational opportunities for children and young people, and jobs, are goals that Manzo says should be priorities. Other mayoral candidates made the same proposals, but Manzo further said he would go after all those firms who obtained lucrative tax abatements and promised to hire local residents.

It should be noted that the other three mayoral candidates seeking to oust Healy are worthy gentlemen whose passion for the city was evident during a forum held by The Jersey Journal. Besides crime, they are for stable taxes, clean streets and a transparent government.

Levin is a community-driven individual, a preservationist who wants city government to be more accountable to its citizens.

Smith is a respected veteran elected official who counts crime, affordable housing and more social programs, like restoring Ready Willing and Able, among his priorities.

Webb's focus is adding youth recreation programs and sensitivity training and a fitness program for police.

After the election, they can make good partners with Manzo in improving the city's quality of life.

The bottom line is that Manzo is a workaholic, a trait he once displayed as a Hudson County freeholder, chief of the city's health division, and as a state legislator. It is that energy, passion and know-how the people of what may be the biggest city in the state by 2010 need in their mayor.


JOURNAL PICKS FOR COUNCIL


In Ward A, the Journal endorses the 31-year-old community organizer for the Services Employees International Union, Local 1199, Andre M. Richardson, for a City Council seat. He is impressive in person and the skills he gained while campaigning on behalf of presidential candidate Barack Obama in several states is translating well in his campaign organization, which seems to be well represented by parents of the Jackie Robinson Little League. His priorities are making streets safe, providing residents with good-paying union jobs, and providing alternatives to gang life for young people.

Ward B resident Philip J. Kenny comes from the Freeholder Bill O'Dea school of government - respond to any request from the community for help. Kenny is our choice to represent the ward on the City Council. He is the only member of the Healy ticket endorsed by the Journal. Respected within the community, Kenny has an independent streak. He would like to create a citizens budget committee and eliminate no-bid contracts for professional services.

For Ward C, the Journal supports the election of James P. King to the council seat. King is on Manzo's ticket and will be a welcome ally in city government. He is best known for his Jimmy King Civic Association, which among many things delivers hundreds of turkeys to shut-ins on Thanksgiving Day, sponsors a Little League team and enlists volunteers to visit hospitals. He wants walking police beats, security around Dickinson High school and improved services for the city's elderly.

The Journal endorses James Carroll for Ward D. A worthy successor to incumbent William Gaughan, Carroll is a police officer and attorney. The Heights resident was once a legal counsel for the Hudson County Democratic Organization and is now part to the Manzo ticket. He would like to review the city's tax abatement policy and stop wasteful government spending.

In Ward E, residents are lucky to choose among several good candidates, but the Journal endorses incumbent Councilman Steven Fulop. Fulop has earned a return to the City Council because he has emerged as the alternative voice on what has become a rubber stamp council. He sponsored the city's pay-to-play law, and he wants to reform the city's tax abatement policy and has been fighting for more transparency in government.

Ward F requires an extremely difficult choice from among the six candidates. It is the area that needs the most attention in the city. The Journal endorses Omar Barbour. An independent, Barbour was heavily involved in the development of the Hub on Martin Luther King Drive. This project is now somewhat stagnant and the city is making changes to the plan. Barbour's ability to plan and organize as well as create partnerships between the community and government entities and developers may prove beneficial to any new administration. He is fighting for a safe cleanup of the chromium-tainted site on Garfield Avenue, and seeking lifetime health monitoring for residents there, and he would like to see improvements in crime fighting policies.

For the three at-large City Council seats, The Journal endorses "change" in the form of Board of Education employee Lori Serrano and two members of Levin's ticket, freelance writer Andrew Hubsch and business consultant Emilio C. DeLia.

Serrano has intimate knowledge of the city public housing system and briefly served as a commissioner of the Jersey City Housing Authority. She is vocal in her criticism of the authority, having accused the housing agency of warehousing apartments at Montgomery Gardens and criticized authority members of handing themselves bonuses instead of raises. Her priorities include better public safety, more affordable housing and other quality-of-life issues.

Hubsch, a former Ward B candidate, is also a dean at Lincoln High School who would like to see the state return the school district to local control. DeLia's family roots go 100 years deep in Jersey City and he has a bachelor's degree in government from Clark University and practiced his major as an intern for Sen. Robert Torricelli and a volunteer in several states for Obama.

Both men want a safe, just and green Jersey City and a government that will not bankrupt future generations, are more interested in empowering others than maintaining power, and will fight to create more jobs than condos.



?2009 Jersey Journal
? 2009 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.


Jersey Journal
Editorial
Saturday, May 9, 2009
www.nj.com/hudsoncountynow