Ray is just an idiot plain & simple. No way he can get elected because Healy can't help him with that.

Let's follow the bouncing ball on this one:

Aug. 31. Ray Velazquez votes against adding city seal decals to city-owned vehicles used off hours by city employees, calling the ordinance "illegal." That opinion was provided by Healy-appointed legal puppet Bill Matsikudis, with no additional research given other than Matsikudis's "Because I said so."

Sept. 2. News breaks that Velazquez's own city-owned vehicle was stolen and gone for a month, sitting for three weeks on a street in the meat packing district. Car was stolen, in part because Velazquez irresponsibly left his keys available in an unsecured place. Surely a city seal would have sped up the recovery time.

Sept. 19. Ray promises to conduct a 90 day investigation into city cars (conveniently putting conclusion of investigation beyond election day.)

Sept. 23. Ray "I don?t believe in doing things just for headlines in the local paper; I try very hard to be a part of real, effective change" Velazquez sponsors an ordinance virtually identical to the Fulop ordinance the council already passed. Surprise, surprise, Mr. Matsikudis decides this one passes his own undefined smell test and can proceed.

How do you manage to dress yourself in the morning Ray? Does that require a call to the mayor too? Good god - we need leaders in this city. November 8 - vote for new leadership and toss out the rubber stamps.

Two City Council bills now compete to put city seals on vehicles owned by Jersey City

Published: Monday, September 26, 2011, 3:00 AM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

Looks like Jersey City employees may have to drive around with city seals on their vehicles after all.

City Councilman-at-Large Ray Velazquez who refused to support Downtown Councilman Steve Fulop?s recent ordinance requiring city seals be placed on all non-emergency city vehicles plans to introduce a similar measure at tomorrow?s council meeting.

Fulop?s measure, which was offered to the council three or four times before a majority adopted it in August, was vetoed earlier this month by Mayor Jerramiah Healy after city attorneys said it was illegal.

But the same legal team is giving Velazquez?s proposal its stamp of approval, even though it is similar to Fulop?s proposal, and may even apply to more city vehicles. City officials insist there is a difference.

Fulop?s ordinance would have mandated city seals be placed on all non-emergency city vehicles; Velazquez?s proposal achieves similar ends by amending salary ordinances that provide vehicles as part of some employees? compensation.

The new salary ordinances would require the vehicles ?bear the city seal,? and would apply to cars given to council members, council aides, departmental heads and statutory employees.

Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis, in a Sept. 21 memo to the council, said Fulop?s ordinance usurped the mayor?s authority, while Velazquez?s proposal works within the limits of the council?s power.

Velazquez said he asked the administration to draft this ordinance after Healy vetoed Fulop?s similar measure.

?It?ll be a legal resolution, and at the same time sending a message to the mayor that we are taking this action,? he said.

Making things more complicated, a resolution on the same meeting?s agenda seeks to override Healy?s veto of Fulop?s ordinance. The ordinance was adopted 5-4, but Fulop would need to find a sixth vote to override the veto.

Asked to comment on Velazquez?s ordinance, Fulop called it a political stunt timed to benefit Velazquez in the November special election.

Velazquez is running to remain in his current seat, which he was appointed to after former council member Mariano Vega resigned in disgrace.

Velazquez?s ordinance will require two readings, a public hearing and then a 20-day waiting period before it?s enacted, Fulop noted.

?We can get this done next week if Ray votes for the veto override and sides with the taxpayer,? Fulop said about Velazquez in an e-mail.

What exactly happens after a Veto override? Does the corporation council still deem this to not be a legal ordinance?

I don't know if the correct thing was for the Mayor to Veto this ordinance, it seemed once the corporation council decided it was in violation of the Faulkner Act then the issue was dead.

Honestly, i'm sick of hearing about cars and seals when there has been major reporting of violent crime in Jersey City I would like to see the chief of police go before the council and explain how he is cutting crime.

Vealzquez is trying to please his master and pretend to be more than a rubber stamp at the same time. Stop playing around with non-starters and show you have a backbone Ray - vote to override the mayor's veto!


Velazquez Wants Jersey City to Prep Report on Phasing Out City-Owned Cars; Fulop Says Plan is ?Laughable?
By Jon Whiten ? Sep 19th, 2011 ? Category: Blog, News, Politics
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UPDATED SEPTEMBER 19 at 2:45 PM with additional comments from Mayor Healy.

In the latest twist in the ongoing multi-pronged fight over the use of city-owned cars by council members and department directors, At-Large councilman Ray Velazquez on Friday asked the Healy administration to prepare a new resolution that would force the city to prepare a report on ways to ?reduce and/or eliminate the use of non-essential city owned vehicles.?

The resolution comes after Mayor Jerramiah Healy vetoed a bill pushed by Ward E councilman Steven Fulop, which would require all city-owned non-emergency vehicles to be labeled with a decal signifying they belong to the city. Fulop has said he will push for a veto override, for which he?d need six votes ? one more than he got when the bill passed several weeks ago. He?s targeting Velazquez as that sixth vote, but the At-Large councilman ? who voted against Fulop?s initial bill ? has said he will not support the override measure.

Instead, he is now sponsoring a separate resolution that aims to push the city in the direction of eliminating its cars and instead reimbursing city employees for the use of their own private cars. Velazquez has said he hopes to emulate Hudson County?s policy in this area.

?[The county] has already put this type of plan into work by eliminating as many cars as possible and setting a reimbursement standard for those employees that use their cars during government business,? Velazquez wrote in a letter to JCI earlier this month. ?No cars equals: no gas station; no repair costs; no insurance costs and no contracts for the purchase of new cars each year.?

Velazquez?s resolution would require business administrator Jack Kelly to do the following:

1. Examine ways to reduce and/or eliminate the use of non-essential city owned vehicles;
2. Formulate a rate of reasonable compensation to be issued in lieu of a vehicle to those government employees currently using city owned vehicles;
3. Communicate with the Council his findings and recommendations to the City Council within 90 days of this resolution.

Fulop, who is still hoping to put pressure on Velazquez to support his override, says the resolution is ?laughable? and lacks teeth. He adds that the At-Large councilman ? who is in a crowded race to keep his seat in a November special election ? is cowing to the mayor, who Fulop says is the ?political boss? who is ?financing? Velazquez?s campaign.

?So, Ray sponsors some make-believe resolution to get through the election that has no binding action. If Ray is sincere, there is only one action he can take, he would vote for the veto override that was prepared by the city?s legal department and puts the residents first,? Fulop says. ?Nobody likes a rubber stamp and Ray should realize that the public is not stupid.?

Mayor Jerramiah Healy is also reacting coolly to the proposal, pointing out that his administration has already done what Velazquez is asking it to do.

?This administration is constantly reviewing ways to cut costs, including reducing the city?s automotive fleet. As stated previously, automobiles assigned to city staff have been cut by nearly 50 percent from 29 to 15 and fuel has been limited to 18 gallons, or one tank per week, whichever is the lesser amount,? Mayor Healy says in an email. ?We?ve cut more than any government entity in this and other areas.?