We should be careful about changing the rules whenever they seem to suit our political desires.

I would think that if Vega is forced out and/or Lopez has to go, there'd probably be the critical mass necessary to get a court order for a special election. Especially Lopez - two of the city's six wards would be underrepresented for up to a year.

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If Massachusetts can change their laws to get a US Senator in to vote on national issues, surely JC can hold a special election, Jan or so, to give the residents of Ward B someone they can have faith in. Especially with the recent scandals, appointing another Team Healy person is inadequate.

Councilman with county job wasn't in July's sweep

Wednesday, October 07, 2009
By MICHAELANGELO CONTE
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Newly elected Jersey City Councilman Philip J. Kenny pleaded guilty to federal extortion charges in Newark yesterday and admitted accepting $5,000 in bribes as part of the massive New Jersey corruption case that broke over the summer.

The Ward B councilman was not charged in the original roundup of 44 suspects in New Jersey and New York who were charged with offenses ranging from corruption and money laundering to the sale of human organs.

Kenny, the "operations coordinator" for the Hudson County Board of Freeholders, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion under color of official right.

He admitted accepting $5,000 in bribes from a government informant in exchange for his official help he would deliver once he became a member of the City Council. (Kenny was appointed to the council in April to replace Mary Spinello. He then ran and won election in May.)

Kenny is the sixth Hudson County public official to plead guilty in the investigation revolving around informant Solomon Dwek, a developer who wore a wire for the FBI for two years after being charged with bank fraud in 2006.

Dwek sought aid from a number of officials, saying he wanted to spread money around in exchange for help with approvals for a fictitious development project on Garfield Avenue.

Kenny admitted that in March he had two meetings in Jersey City restaurants with Dwek and a Jersey City official described as an employee of the Jersey City Department of Health and Human Services, and a former member of the Jersey City Zoning Board.

At the first meeting, Kenny agreed to accept $5,000 broken down into two $2,500 contributions from "straw donors" to his Friends of Phil Kenny war chest in exchange for future official favors.

At the second meeting, he accepted the two checks, knowing it was illegal. Officials did not reveal the signatories on the checks.

After the plea hearing, Kenny was released on a $50,000 unsecured bail until his Jan. 12 sentencing, where he will face up to two years in prison.

Kenny grew up in Jersey City and was active in local politics for more than a decade. He has worked for the Jersey City Parking Authority and spent eight years as chief of staff to William O'Dea, a Hudson County freeholder.

Kenny has been a state Democratic committeeman, West Side ward leader for the Obama presidential campaign, trustee of the Lincoln Park Little League, and an usher and Eucharistic minister at St. Aloysius Church in Jersey City.

As a result of his guilty plea he will no longer be allowed to hold public office, vote or even sit on a jury.

==================

Will Ward B seat on council sit vacant for a year?
Wednesday, October 07, 2009

The Jersey City City Council has 30 days from the time Ward B Councilman Philip Kenny forfeits his office to select a replacement - or not, according to City Clerk Robert Byrne.

Byrne said there is precedent for the nine-member council operating with eight members until a special election is held.

By law, the special election to elect someone to serve out Kenny's term, which ends June 30, 2013, would be held in November next year.

Special elections must be held at the next upcoming general election and there is not enough time to hold the election this year, Byrne said.

According to Hudson County First Assistant Prosecutor Guy Gregory, his office has to file a motion in court, which includes the transcript of what Kenny pleaded guilty to yesterday, to bring about his forfeiture of office.

The process will be quicker and smoother if Kenny resigns, Gregory said.

KEN THORBOURNE

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Yeah that occurred to me earlier tonight, hard to believe Nov 3rd is so close. Well maybe there can be a special election. Board of Ed elections are in May I think.
hmmm (thinking)...

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Great idea except that legally, I don't think an election can be thrown together in less than 4 weeks.

He didn't even really have the decency to resign as CCP: "n his pseudo-resignation letter, Vega says he is ?temporarily stepping down ? as Council President until such time as I am completely exonerated.?

Ward B election - that's a great idea.

Sorry for the folks in Ward B. Is there a way for them to petition to have an election for the seat on Nov 3rd? If people are voting for Gov anyway shouldn't the folks in Ward B be allowed to choose for themselves? just a thought.

Brennan, a former bookie, just great..and as for taking Kenny's seat, what is Team Healy going to do, put in another corrupt person...We can only hope in the year or so, there is a clean sweep of Team (Corruption) Healy!


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Iwitness is correct. Here's some more about what's next.

"Reached this afternoon, City Clerk Robert Byrne confirmed that Vega is stepping down only as Council President but retaining his At-Large seat. He says that the council can either continue to function with At-Large councilman Peter Brennan running the show as Council President Pro Tem, or the council could elect a new president altogether.

As for Kenny?s seat, the council can vote to appoint someone to fill it within the next 30 days; that person would serve an interim term until the November 2010 elections. If the council can?t come to an agreement on who should be appointed, the body could in theory continue to operate as an eight-person council until next fall as well."

http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... finally-steps-down-kinda/

Finally, evidence that people are talking. Wonder who else has decided to talk into a tape recorder to save their own arse?

Crabs in a barrel.

So if "this decision was the right move for our city and our people" why wasn't it the right move 74 days ago? What were (are) you afraid of Mr. Mayor?

Governor Corzine - clearly our city is not being run with the best interests of the people in mind. What are you doing to fix this ungovernable mess??

Calm down, folks. It appears he's only resigning his position as City Council President.

I'm assuming Vega resigned from the council altogether, but the story (and Healy's quote) create doubt as to whether he only resigned from the Presidency or the council.

Ah so then I predict he must be the unnamed JC official in the Phil Kenny story...

By Jon Whiten ? Oct 6th, 2009 ? Category: Lead Story, News, Politics

Breaking news out of City Hall.

?Mariano Vega has resigned from his position as Council President today effective Friday,? Mayor Jerramiah Healy says in a statement. ?We believe this decision is the right one for our city and our people, and we will work with the governing body to focus on the business of moving this city forward with honest, open and effective government.?

Healy adds that as a result of his guilty plea today, Ward B councilman Phil Kenny has also forfeited his seat.

?I am just as stunned as everyone by this news,? Healy says. ?I had always known Phil Kenny to be an honest person who was dedicated to his city and his community.?

http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... ano-vega-finally-resigns/

yet. the crowd at tonight's council meeting was thin, giving this supposed pariah another day to get his sea legs. where's the vaunted outrage? If I had to sit through the entire city council meeting just to get one stinkin' interview, some of you reformers should have to do at least that to get Vega to resign!

:/

If any of these politicians are found guilty why are law abiding, tax paying citizens of Jersey City having to pay moving forward for the comfort of individuals who do not deserve it. GUILTY does not entitle you to pension or monies if you are asked to (fired) leave a state or government post that you were elected to be a part of. This is a terrible time in Jersey City and should anger everyone that lives in this city. I will not name names about elected officials to show the disappointment as someone who lives, owns and believed (past tense) in Jersey City. I hope the families of these officials are embarrassed enough and talk some sense into them into doing the right thing like admitting they did wrong and moving forward with their lives. I have read that some of them already have. Right step in the right direction. This just seems like a small part of what is wrong with this big country. Just my $.02

P2P Reform only a first step.

Little has changed, end business as usual.

Healy, Vega and Lopez must resign.

NECESSARY ACTIONS TO RESTORE PUBLIC CONFIDENCE

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Sums him up pretty nicely....

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That would actually be kind of awesome.

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That is if Brennan is recovered from his prostate cancer surgery. If not, would that mean, gulp, Acting Mayor Willie Flood?

I guess if Vega resigns and Healy is indicted it will be acting Mayor Peter Brennan.

Vega might relinquish council presidency

By Matt Friedman, PolitickerNJ.com Reporter

Jersey City Council President Mariano Vega, who was arrested last month for allegedly taking $30,000 in bribes from a federal informant, will be in charge of the next council meeting -- if he remains council president.

Mayor Jerramiah Healy has put pressure on Vega to resign from his top post, though nobody expects him to quit his at-large seat altogether.

City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill acknowledged that Healy has met with Vega several times since his arrest, but did not disclose details about their conversations.

?The nature of it is on how to move the city forward governmentally. And that?s really the extent of what we?ll be commenting on,? she said.

The council intended to temporarily remove Vega from the top post by designating Councilman Peter Brennan president pro-tem ? a position that the council had already intended to create but took on new urgency once Vega was arrested. Most council members and government officials were under the impression that Brennan would fill in for Vega while he dealt with his defense.

But in a in a memo to council members, Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis wrote that Vega will maintain control of council meetings as long as he attends them, and that he can not simply delegate the responsibility to Brennan.

The council president makes a slightly higher salary than the rest of the council and temporarily takes over the mayor?s duties in the event of a resignation or death.

Neither Vega nor Brennan, who is recovering from prostate cancer-related surgery, attended this month?s council meeting, over which Councilman Bill Gaughan presided. Both plan to attend the next one on September 9. Multiple City Hall sources say that Vega is considering stepping down as council president on or before then.

Councilman Steve Fulop, who requested the opinion that resulted in the Matsikoudis memo, is the only council member who has called on Vega to resign his seat ? not just his position as president.

?If you are definitive that you did nothing wrong and you don?t want to resign, then why resign from one position and not the other,? he said. ?Maybe Mariano now thinks he did a little something wrong so he will resign a little bit.?

A call to Vega?s cell phone was not returned.

NJ 'BRIBE' POL AWOL

New York Post
August 13, 2009

Embattled Jersey City Council President Mariano Vega was absent from yesterday's council meeting that included two more resignations connected to a corruption scandal.

Vega is charged with accepting $10,000 in bribes from a developer who was an undercover informant for the FBI. He is among 44 people -- more than a dozen connected to Jersey City -- arrested in a July 23 corruption sweep.

From the JJ:

Contrast the first paragraph with the last 3. We are going to get screwed again by letting these criminals remain.

Sickening.

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Here's what went down in Hoboken today:

JJ Link...

JC had more individuals involved in this than any other municipality, and yet the relative silence here in JC again, just like on election day, is indicative that ultimately, a populace gets what it deserves.

Agree with most of these posts. From another perspective -

Gov Corzine -

This is going to be a tough election for you. The economy and the changes for New Jersey will be blamed on you, even though they resulted from years of republican lack of oversight in the financial markets.

What is going to make it tougher is that all of these indicted public officials are democrats. If they - particularly the crowd in Jersey City, but others as well - have not resigned by the end of the summer, you are going to be out of office soon. Please step up and use your position and connections to help get the right thing done. These democrats are going to be pinned to you like the tail on a donkey. A statement isn't enough. They need to resign.

It is a lawyers game now, to quit is admitting guilt. lets make sure that those that are guilty know we are MADD AS HELL and were not going to take it anymore! Please show up to City Hall.