As Colleen put it... it is time to stop feeding the troll (as tempting as it may be, and I am as guilty of this as anyone).

So, let him blather away and let's just ignore him. This is sure to drive him crazy.

-M

Look at the lengths of time registered and number of posts made by those criticsing Fulop compared to those praising him.

In this season, unless you have 100 posts and a year under your belt, your opinions and posts are worth nothing.

Robin.

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No. Not even close.

amazing how many thoughtful politically minded citizens decide to post on JC List for the first time ever on this riveting thread.

I'm just glad that JCFree and HHEnd shared their unbiased and unpaid for thoughts with us.

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+$2

More than anything, this is just kind of sad really. You brought up JCFree in your first post. Out of all of the trolls on here (you would know if you actually were part of JCList for longer than the last two weeks), why would you say you'll be accused of being JCFree's mom?

And no - the Fulop base continues to grow. Wishing otherwise won't make it so.

Anyhoo - this has grown tiresome. So give it your best shot. Huff and puff and get it all out - I'm giving you the last word. I think I'd rather go cut my toenails than tune in for another predictable denial/slime post, Josh. Good night.

Some of us have been around a long time, and we have seen many a dirty trick used before. So this is not original (and is borderline boring). And, we have seen "new" people show up all the time to stir things up.

Any reasonable person knows that all the violations have happened under the Healy regime. We have seen Healy's buddies locked up by the truck load. No amount of buffoon-like posts can change this fact.

And, because people can see through the simple (dare I say "child like") transparent lies and slimy tactics, every shoddy underhanded trick is actually helping to bring about change.

So -- good work and keep it up!

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This is really all there is to know. We've got 7 years of record on both of them in office. Forget financial backers for a moment, it's important but not all there is. Time and again Team Healy has supported the corrupt status quo, the free cars, the unaccountability, the nepotism, the patronage, the waste, the mismanaged Authorities, the pay to play. Time and again Fulop has voted in opposition, and proposed legislation in opposition.

So, regardless of accusations of who has supported him financially and tactically, the big question voters have to ask themselves is this: after all that, how likely is it he will turn into just another Healy on the day after he's elected mayor?

We're not talking here about a political hack like Healy, whose greatest ambition was to pillage the city at head of the HCDO troops. Fulop is a guy who could make all the loot he wants on Wall Street, yet he volunteered for the Marines during wartime, and ran for council in his 20's. Don't you folks think this guys ambition clearly goes beyond Mayor of JC, and that he's extremely unlikely to suddenly turn into everything he's struggled against just when he's finally got the bigger stage?

Think about it as the mud flies....

See, a reply like the one from T-Bird only confirms further for me what I wrote in my post above. The fact that this individual is so quick to write me off as JCFree is exactly the type of blind worship and denial I'm now seeing among Fulop's (slowly shrinking) circle of supporters. You still haven't responded to my points in any substantive way, at all. Point fingers, accuse this or that... this thread speaks for itself, and loudly. And you're not going to win any friends with that sort of hostility.

Not only that - it shows me that at least in this case, an ardent Fulop supporter is willing to call someone they don't know a liar in order to defend their man. I mean, I know I'm not JCFree, and that's good enough for me to feel even MORE sure about what I wrote above. But you, T-Bird, are simply wrong. And the fact is that there are lots of folks who now understand Fulop as the typical JC politician he is.

Again, thanks for confirming what I wrote above.

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+$1

Welcome back, JCFree. That took longer than I thought it would. Next. (Mix it up a bit more next time - you have the same feigned self-righteous indignant tone.)

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Our number one priority is making sure your message is clear, concise and compelling.

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I've only posted here once before. I hope that doesn't preclude the content of this reply from being read objectively.

First, I'll say I don't work for either candidate, nor have I ever volunteered or donated money to either candidate. I live here, am raising a family here, and work here.

In the over 10 years I have lived here, Steve Fulop always seemed like the answer to JC politics. As someone who did not grow up here but has come to love this city, I recognize the problems with corruption that have troubled Jersey City. And it always seemed like Steve might be able to overcome that, even if just for a little while.

But now, reading this, it's clear that he is not what he claims to be in terms of transparency and doing everything on the up-and-up. All you need to know is that line from the email about the secret meeting with Cerf, BOE people and those parents - the part that said "keep in confidence as always" As always? This is the guy who is going to save Jersey City?

It's also pretty clear now that his BOE takeover and volunteer army make him exactly the kind of machine politician he quickly dismisses, but only after they deny him the endorsements he requested. Its babyish and hypocritical.

The reaction here from ardent Fulop supporters smacks of denial. You can say what you want about Healy and some of it might be true - but you can't plug your ears and say "I can't hear you" when someone is providing dates, dollar amounts, etc. You don't want to think that Fulop could be anything but the man you've imagined. And I'm sure he is a good guy who wants to do good things as he sees them. But to have based so much of his politics on assailing this or that, and then to be demonstrably hypocritical on these exact same things... well, it's like I've seen this movie before, and I know how it ends.

So go ahead - tell me I'm JCFree's mom, or a paid troll, or whatever. You've got your mind made up. But your guy is just like all those he criticizes; you'll vote for him regardless, but at least admitting that to yourself might be a worthwhile exercise in intellectual responsibility. You know, as opposed to just being a groupie.

The best thing I read all week, how Fulop's campaign was pitched by the shrill shill, I guess JCFree feels some vengeance going after him in this utterly transparent smear sponsored by Jerry's Kids.
It's painful to read the troll's posts -- to think it's getting paid for this crap.
Now if you silly people would just stop feeding the troll!

I am ordinarily complacent about my politics but after reading this I AM SO GOING TO THAT EVENT TO SPONSOR FULOP. I'm going to donate and I'm going to find out the best ways to volunteer. JCFree's trolling is such an insult to the intelligent voter and gets on my last nerve - Healy is not getting his money's worth with these hacks. But thank you, JCFree, I'll have my kid, my dog, my wife and I handing out Fulop flyers now.

In fact, I just donated $50 online to Fulop and I've decided, for my own amusement - everytime JCFree posts on this board, I'm going to donate another $1.00 to Fulop's campaign. Just like a political drinking game....this outta be fun.

JCFree - I'm disappointed. You sound unhinged.

Just to clean up a bit of the mess you left this morning...

Fulop is not on the board of ed.

Fairview contributes to a lot of campaigns throughout the state - including Healy's council slate last time around. Go figure. So the eight people elected to the council on that ticket were also somehow under the spell of Fulop? I'm sure it's connected to 9/11 somehow...

You are left with quibbling over whether last October was more or less than a year ago? Really? For your records and so you get it right on your next screed, the event in question was on the 25th.

Your boy Healy still hasn't returned the $100k he took from Dwek (through all the various collection points) to fund his LAST CAMPAIGN - three and a half years ago. Your beef with Fulop is that he returns contributions too slowly? Wow. Just wow.

As for what Fulop would do as mayor - rather than speculate (even though that is what your paycheck requires you to do) - look at his record on the council. That's seven-plus years of votes. Not some contorted hypothetical. Where is your smoking gun, Josh?

JCFree poped up out of nowhere only to smear Fulop and so far, all of his/her/team's 37 rantings are just that.

All I want from my major as a mother living in Jersey City is that the mayor not get caught urinating in public, drunk body-slam the table at an outing and oh yes, that his administration not be tainted with corruption with the FBI sting that sent his administrators to jail.

Steven Fulop has my vote.

JCFree, you will be happy to know that after your post I was actually not going to vote for the mayoral race (I despise local politics) but I am definitely voting for Fulop and will think about contributing to his campaign.

JCfree, you represent the worst of politics and I wonder how you sleep at night. Instead of praising your boss (Healy), you tarnish and point fingers. Instead of defending your boss against various allegations of corruption, you turn on the slime even more on Fulop. So this is your message, "My candidate Healy is pretty dirty but better the devil you know than the devil you don't."

It's so obvious what you're doing. You should really try and be a bit balanced. At this point, you make Fox News look like it's fair and balanced. I just hope Healy isn't paying you more than minimum wage because you're not doing a great job.

StevenFulop-

Ordinarily, I would applaud you for taking the time to respond to the concerns of residents. But this response is so lacking in honesty that it's appalling. Moreover, the fact that you pile on to name-calling in attempt to subvert the truth is equally non-mayoral.

Let's skip over your efforts to paint yourself as a victim for people confronting you with verifiable proof, despite the fact that you ran around for last three years trying to elevate yourself, not on your record, but by calling Healy a criminal.

First, if you are going to comment on something, know that there IS a record of what was said in the press and you can't plead blissful ignorance while calling others trolls for pointing these things out. If you would have bothered to look at the Jersey City Independent article attached about Sacco attending your fundraiser, you would notice that the article was dated October 31, 2011. Is that more than a year from today? No. That's an outright lie. Moreover, you were quoted as saying you had a "good relationship" with Sacco. You don't get to now revise history and say that "it's a stretch to say that I have had ANY relationship with him". ANOTHER LIE. Nice attempt to explain away your epic hypocrisy. Guess you don't want to be too close now that he is being investigated.

Next, no support for Dave Donnelly? Didn't Fairview Insurance give him $2,500 on 10/13/10? The same Fairview Insurance that has supported you with thousands of dollars over the years and the one that just received a large insurance contract from the Board of Education that you now control? Mere coincidence, I am sure and I am a troll for pointing this out.

You want to criticize the Hudson Reporter for a "BS article"? Is that the way handle addressing media that questions your actions? Not very professional. Contrary to your point of view, reporters have a right to ask questions. You chose not to comment on the record and now you attack the reporter. That's cowardly.

Your campaign IS NOT extremely cautious about fundraising and proactive in returning money. As had been pointed out earlier. Review the posts above, you have Dale Hardman of "No Gas Pipeline" literally working on your campaign and who attempted to explain away your acceptance of $20,000+ in money from the attorneys for Spectra Energy from as far back as October of 2011. You didn't return their money until July of 2012 after an article came out from the same Hudson Reporter that you now slam. Coincidence, of course, it must have been in the pipeline of things to do after the election.

The same can be said of Impact PAC and Impact JC LLC, when you broke the law you championed and violated Redeveloper Pay-to-Play. It wasn't until June 2, 2010, the same date that an article came out in the Jersey Journal addressing the issue, that your campaign decided to return the contribution as reported in your 7/13/10 ELEC report.

I guess these got by the "vetting of your group of volunteer good-government activists" as you state in "Fact 3".

Finally, appreciate the parsing of words and efforts to prevaricate as to the law firm referenced in the story. Scarinci Hollenbeck has been there for 10 years, but the firm you should be addressing is FLORIO PERRUCCI. You know, the ones who didn't have a contract with the Board of Education until you took control of the school board and after they started raising money for you.

To anyone who pays attention, you have shown exactly what you would do if you would become mayor, despite your phony representations to the contrary. You don't believe that patronage in the form of giving contracts to your donors is corrupt. You have shown that in just a few months at the helm of the BOE. You just like to brand it that way because it isn't YOUR patronage.

Thank you for allowing anyone who pays attention to get a glimpse at the real Steven Fulop.

Ok, I'll be the first troll to respond. This is great info.

The things that one misses when they don?t monitor JClist constantly?..

So, this is my third election with JClist used as a tool for trolls and sadly it is par for the course. So rather than go back and forth with trolls on misinformation, I am going to answer some of the misinformation for the benefit of the people that actually value information and have been on here for a long time but I am not going to respond from there because I don?t think it benefits anyone.

I will say that it is an ugly business, this politics, and disheartening at times as every day I hear more rumors and misinformation, a guy being paid to follow me, people digging into all aspect of my life etc?

It is interesting for me as the same consultants Healy has hired to run his campaign pitched our campaign before we opted not to go in this direction because we didnt want the hack feeling to it but in their pitch, they outlined exactly how they would handle running against us. They said they would character assassinate to create indifference and apathy defining me early. I guess it is what it is and I think the facts are on our side but here is some info per this thread that is just flat out wrong:

1) There is no coincidence that the Trolls surface the same time that the Healy campaign hires a firm that on their website one of their noted expertise?s is ?political blogging?

2) I didn?t support David Donnelly in his election nor did I support Esther Wintner. Not supporting Esther didn?t have anything to do with her being a conservative as I didn?t care if she was white/Hispanic/African American/gay/lefty/righty etc but it had to do with barely knowing her or her view on JC other than a handful of council meetings she attended. I wasn?t involved in either side of that election

3) Senator Sacco attended a fundraiser over a year ago (he didn?t donate) as has about 4 other senators and countless elected officials over the years. I make it a point to recognize EVERY elected official that attends an event out of respect. It is a stretch to say that I have had any relationship with him when the newspaper itself outlines that the legal issues that exist today with him are directly related to paid city workers working for the Healy campaign against me in 2009. More often than not these elected officials attend to fact find but from my standpoint I am indifferent and respectful

4) It is a stretch to say Bill O?Dea has been aligned with the party machine. He has run as an independent more often than not against the party line and has always been perceived sadly as an outsider although I think he often does do the admirable and right thing. In the last election her ran on the democratic ticket but I think most in the county would say he is not one of the good old boys

5) The Reporter called me on this BS article last week that they wrote and I made the mistake of not commenting because I thought at the time there were zero facts to substantiate so I didn?t want to get into a back and forth on some fabricated story and make a story. Little did I know she would run a story anyway and to substantiate the statement the following sources of reference are mentioned which I think we can all appreciate (they are cited in the order of their appearance in the text): ?some people in New Jersey?s well-connected world; ?several Fulop and Rivera associates;?one politically active New Jersey attorney; ...several people who wished to remain anonymous; ...another attorney; ...some people; ... several people; ...one source...; ?there is further evidence, but no evident was mentioned. I would say that any reasonable personal in journalism would say that this article without facts is a stretch

6) Rivera himself apparently wrote a letter to the reporter prior and saying that the allegations from the anonymous sources were just not true at all but that again didn?t matter to the reporter. It was the same thing that I said at the city council meeting when asked

7) I wrote the following to the Editor of the reporter on Monday as a result of the article:


For the past four years, President Obama has repeatedly shrugged off ridiculous attacks, saying, "Politics is a contact sport."

It is certainly true. Still, I have always believed that whatever candidates and their campaigns might say, the media are there to act as referees for the most part: to fact check, to seek confirming sources, to bring balance.

For several weeks, the Hudson Reporter and I have been going back and forth with regard to what I see as deeply biased reporting by one specific writer.

Often, the reporter covering Jersey City produces articles about our campaign that are just not true. Her sources are almost always anonymous (this is the third time).

Last week, this reporter wrote an article about fundraising, suggesting that our campaign violates the same strict pay-to-play laws I introduced as a Councilperson. The article was written with zero facts and zero on-the-record sources--but in the end, sadly, the Healy campaign gets what it wants, which is a headline to use in campaign literature.

Here are the facts:

Fact#1- The law firm Scarinsci Hollenbeck in particular referenced in the article have neither raised nor bundled funds for my campaign in violation of any pay to play laws. Our campaign files quarterly reports that outline our fundraising. We do a detailed, more clear and comprehensive job than most in the state. Although I had explained this to the reporter, she chose to disregard it.

Fact#2- Our campaign is extremely cautious on fundraising, but is not always perfect. The campaign has returned PROACTIVELY more than $60,000 in donations that we felt represented conflicts or perceived conflicts. Not a lot of campaigns make it a habit to return money. I am proud of the lengths we go to without any fanfare to simply do the right thing.

Fact#3- Every single donation the campaign receives is vetted by a group of volunteer good-government activists that live in Jersey City. Every donation is discussed and checked by regular people to ensure that our campaign is compliant with the letter of the law. You won't see any other campaign in Hudson County going to these lengths to create checks and balances.

Fact#4- The Reporter article provides no facts and offers no comments on the record. It is solely based on sources the reporter herself deems "politically connected." They are, of course, anonymous. I would suggest that responsible journalism requires more than this.

Fact#5- The law firm referenced in the story has been working for the city and the Board of Education for 10 years. In other words, the firm has been engaged since long before I ever entered government. So much for the suggestion that I had anything to do with getting that firm placed in New Jersey.

Sadly, this is going to be an ugly campaign no matter how much we try to stay above the fray. The Healy plan is to try to show that everyone is as ethically challenged as he is, with the hope that apathy prevails in the end. I am going to do my best to keep the dialogue above that, but I won't be bashful about responding when the attacks are baseless, anonymous, and just plain wrong.
Steven

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I guess we are resorting to buffet-style denials to the information where there may be deniability, while ignoring the rest and hoping it goes away.

You address O'Dea and the HCDO, but don't touch the Sacco issue with a 10-ft. pole? I guess it's pretty hard to deny the Sacco stuff since Steve went out of his way to acknowledge him at a fundraising event and make sure that his appearance got publicity in the news.

As for your "last and most importantly".....that is the weakest effort at discrediting a reporter that I have ever seen. The writer cites direct sources and approached Fulop and his pal Ramon for their comments.

Ramon Rivera issued a "no comment" to what should be a very easy thing to deny, if he didn't solicit money on his behalf. No comment is legalese for I better not be on the record because if someone produces documentation or is questioned under oath...people may find out that I did solicit money for Steve Fulop.

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You mean the Jersey City Tea Party? One of whose founders is a huge Steve Fulop volunteer and supporter? The same volunteer who sends out Steve's monthly birthday card greetings and Mothers day flowers?

The same volunteer that asked Esther and Mia Scanga, another Fulop supporter, to attend their event. Both were present. I believe at that point, Esther was meeting everyone drumming support to fight the tax increases.

You mean the "very conservative" Esther that was awarded the Jersey City Peace Movement Activist award? Anyone who has spoken to her knows she's libertarian, not conservative.

Steve did make appearances with David during the campaign giving him de facto, if not du jour support.

O'Dea the independent, that stood there and helped short circuit the JCIA DPW merger, while Steve sat there quietly.

Last and most importantly, you're saying that we should NEVER believe an article that has unnamed or anonymous sources, or only the ones about Steve?

The easiest way to answer this is for Steve to ask his friend, Mr. Rivera to come forward publicly and deny the allegations and challenge the anonymous sources to come forward.

Then we can put that issue behind us.

Steve didnt campaign for Esther nor for any other reason than she is very conservative (tea party rallies, etc).

He wasn't involved with the election for Donnelly.

You would be hard pressed to get anyone in the political machine to say that Bill O'Dea is an HCDO stalwart. He has run independent off the line more often over his career than anyone.

Last and most importantly, the Reporter article entirely lacks facts. So no, it doesn't appear Steve lied.

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Emily, I do recall that. I also recall Fulop sitting in a meeting where recalling certain City Council members was discussed and him being supportive of the effort. I recall Steve then being quoted in the paper that a recall was not the way to go, after supposedly getting called on the carpet by the powers in the HCDO.

I recall Esther running against David Donnelly, the Team Healy candidate in the special election. I recall being told that when he was asked by one of his supporters if he would support Esther, Steve asked how that would help him. I recall Steve making appearances with David during the campaign. I recall being told that Steve referred to David as an ?Empty Suit?. I also recall Steve making a big announcement that David would be on the Fulop reform ticket. Why? I believe it was because Steve needs the support of HCDO stalwart Bill O?Dea in Ward B.

I recall Esther going down to the City Council meeting and shaking her fist and yelling about crime this early this year. When the rally was being organized, I recall being told that when approached by one of his supporters about helping, Steve?s office said these were 2013 issues. I recall that Esther, and John Lynch and a whole group of people forced the mayor and chief to confront the issue and hold meetings with the people of Jersey City. I recall the Chief asking for help in writing our Washington representatives in support of a Federal Grant that would enable the hiring of additional police officers. I recall Esther going from meeting to meeting gathering hundreds of letters. I don?t recall Steve making an appearance, supporting the program, collecting letters or writing letters on our behalf.

I recall Esther being willing to work with anyone, Fulop supporter, Healy supporter, democrat, republican, libertarian, liberal or conservative in the attempt to improve the lives of the people of Jersey City; as long as they were willing to help and without worrying about what year in the election cycle it was. I recall Esther fighting hard, with many others, to stop the use of Eminent Domain at McGinley Square. I recall Esther willingly giving Steve, Mayor Healy, Nidia, Brennan, Viola, David, whomever, credit for their actions when it was due them. It seems to me that unlike Steve she does play well with others, even if they have disagreements on certain issues.

I recall Steve saying if you have an issue with him come down to the council meetings and ask him yourself. I recall Esther asking him about Ramon Rivera and I recall Steve saying in no uncertain terms that Rivera has neither contributed to, nor raised funds for, Fulop?s mayoral campaign. I also recall reading an article in the Hudson Reporter that seems to be saying that Steve sat there and lied. I recall reading in the article that Steve twisted some arms to get another friend a contract from the BOE. I also recall Fulop supporters telling me how evil it is to get your cronies jobs and contracts. I recall one of Steve?s past assistants now works for the county. So is bad to get your cronies jobs and contracts or is it only bad if your name isn?t Steve Fulop?

What I don?t recall is ad hominem attacks on Esther by the Healy crew when she opposed them on issues, but I see it from the Fulop Gang when she works with the powers that be to get things done.

I was a Fulop supporter although not from his ward, and thought 4 years ago he would make a good mayor. Now however I am reminded of Animal Farm and I am sure you can guess what animal I see in Steve. I also think he lacks the temperament to be an effective mayor.

Let the Ad Hominem attacks begin.

I just want to start off by saying that I would luv to see Healy go...and Fulop seems like he could beat him but his supporters should not be naive.

Is it possible that Fulop can win without building a machine or co-opting some of the very stooges/power brokers of Healy/JC??? I think it would be extremely difficult but not impossible.


Let's say Fulop beats Healy, in order to govern he is going to have to get in bed with some very unsavory characters and compromise with much of the opposition in order to get anything done. This is politics. Fulop is not a saint, he is a politician.

He knows this or should know this.

To his supporters, if he gets elected you need to hold him accountable or many of you will be posting lots of negative stuff about him on JClist in the future.

I have said this before. Vote, pay attention and hold all politicians accountable.

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Does anyone remember Esther waving her fist at a Healy controlled clowncil declaring "We are NOT your ATM"? That was before she pressed the Easy button and became Healy's latest shill.

Bar Keep! Another round!

HeightsBrat says

"there is a difference in playing the game & being gracious & being in bed with"

Is that what "Open and Transparent" government is to you, to Fulop.....a game?

That's sure the way it seems when you attack others for having more than one governmental job because they endorse your opponent, while months earlier, you boast of support from a notorious North Hudson boss who has three public jobs. That's called being a hypocrite.

But judging by your level of discourse, I'd say you are too far gone to be honest with yourself that the only genuine qualification that Fulop has is that he may or may not drink alcohol. It sure as hell isn't honesty.

Perhaps if we go back to the Prohibition Era, then that would mean something.

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And one of Healy's prized Weebles speaks forgetting that there is a difference in playing the game & being gracious & being in bed with. I mean, look at the lie, little Weeble, that Healy would like to perpetuate, the one that Stack likes him.

Troll on little Weeble.

Bar Keep! Another round!

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Look at the bright side, he went to great pains to compliment North Bergen's Mayor/Deputy Superintendant of Schools/State Senator at a fundrasing event in October of 2011.

"But Fulop was the star of the evening, starting his six-minute speech by acknowledging Sacco, whose presence raised some eyebrows since Fulop?s political guru Tom Bertoli and Sacco are longtime political rivals. After the event, Fulop, responding to questions via email, said that he and Sacco have a ?good relationship? and was happy that Sacco came to his fundraiser."

Guess he had no problem with the triple-dipping and the ever-present allegations of bossism in North Bergen when it worked to his advantage. That's his brand of reform.

http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... r-players-and-supporters/

At the end of the day I think this election will hinge on whether the HCDO fully supports Healy or if stays out of the race. Fulop seems to have some real issues in the African-American community. If the HCDO and the black community back Healy it will be difficult for Fulop to win.