Being an independent suits me well as I really only care about doing what's best for my neighbors. I'd much rather take my chances as an independent than be beholden to anyone else any day of the week. It's safe to say that isn't really a surprise to any of the mayoral candidates in this race.

This election:

-I have raised more money
-I have had more time to campaign
-I have lessons learned and campaign infrastructure from our campaign 18 months ago
-I'm fighting on my home turf (Ward C)
-My money goes pretty far thanks to the great work being done by team of volunteers. No I won't be running TV ads, but that isn't what wins a race like this.

I lost in the citywide race in 2011's special election, but I won Ward C by a healthy margin. This isn't a special election, I'm up against some well funded competition, and I'll never rule out old fashioned Hudson County election rigging, but I still really like my chances on May 14th.

Political Insider: Nobody's coattails: 2 strong candidates run for JC council independently

By Agustin C. Torres/The Jersey Journal
April 27, 2013 at 12:02 AM

In the upcoming Jersey City election, we've discussed the mayoral campaigns but said little about the City Council seats that are up for grabs.

To have any chance at a ward seat, a candidate has to have name recognition and have a positive reputation. It's also best that they take to heart The Animals' lyrics: "I'm just a soul whose intentions are good -- Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood."

Let's take a look at the two most interesting council candidates, men running without ties to any "team" and who have an excellent shot of winning or at least making those two slates headed by Mayor Jerramiah Healy and Downtown Councilman Steven Fulop very nervous. The dynamic duo are Richard Boggiano, a retired city detective seeking the Ward C seat, and Central Avenue businessman Michael Yun, a Ward D aspirant.

I took a look at both of them in action on Thursday evening, starting with Boggiano.

The candidate was walking the sidewalks in the heart of the Little India retail and restaurant strip of Newark Avenue between Kennedy Boulevard and Tonnelle Avenue. You could smell the spices and food being prepared in the many eateries.

Boggiano was accompanied by four volunteers handing out fliers and talking to people about voting for their man. It is a crowded yet bustling area where the two-block stretch of roadway is bumper to bumper, often making it difficult for ambulances to traverse, even with flashing lights and ear-blasting sirens.

At each business, Boggiano, 69, would ask the owner if he could put up a campaign poster. Often he was just replacing one that had been torn down (allegedly) by either a Healy or Fulop worker who tacked up one of their own political notices. Boggiano said he does not remove opponents' handbills. With his fliers and posters, the candidate and his volunteers paper buildings -- with permission -- and stuff mailboxes and staple utility poles -- those effective, illegal public message boards.
Boggiano tells me that City Hall has handed out every requested tax abatement to Downtown developers and ignores the rest of the city, which is always congested with traffic, in need of jobs, and screams for a better quality of life.
"I'll reject all tax abatements," he said of what he considers sweetheart deals. "We've been ignored up here (Journal Square) long enough."

He is well known by the Indo-American business people and community leaders, several greeting him by name. Case in point is Raju Patel, president of the city Asian Merchants Association.

"Richard needs a lot of help," Patel said in his Newark Avenue office. Patel offers to introduce Boggiano to other influential Indo-Americans. What's interesting about Patel is that he has endorsed Healy and backs Boggiano.

Boggiano asked everyone he ran into whether they are registered to vote. Many said they were not. Some were unaware of any local election -- mostly young people who seemed to be coming home from work.

The latter are mostly young professional men and women from India who are referred to as "H-ones." These people hold an H-1B non-immigrant visa status, explained Boggiano volunteer Rampaul Guyadeem. It is a flexible designation that allows them to work in this country in occupations requiring specialized knowledge in almost every field of endeavor. There seems to be a lot of folks with extraordinary know-how walking around Journal Square.

There were some residents who were well aware of the city races. Boggiano's crew recruited some future volunteers who were eating at a popular spot, young moms who were upset that a playground at "mosquito park" at Manhattan and the Boulevard had been vandalized, set on fire. They say they are tired of waiting for the city to replace the playground.
Boggiano is using the have-no-money campaign approach of wearing out shoe leather. Although his wife made him go out and buy some black athletic shoes because of the mileage he is accumulating. He was last seen disappearing into the large market on the Boulevard: "Hi, are you registered to vote? ..."
UP IN THE HEIGHTS

Yun, 57, is campaigning the way you'd expect from a businessman. We accidentally bumped into each other when I parked close to his Central Avenue campaign headquarters.

I put a hand on his shoulder and facetiously asked: "Are you comfortable now that you're living in your tiny apartment above your Garden State news store?"

Without missing a beat, Yun said it is great and that his wife loves just walking downstairs to go to work. It seems that in the past -- there has been some conjecture about how far in the past -- his wife hated getting up after 5 a.m. to travel to work.

Well-dressed with a jacket and tie, the silver-haired merchant sat in his well-equipped HQ, enjoying a chance to grab a smoke with no one around.

And what about the election?
"It's about marketing," said the president of the Central Avenue Special Improvement District of his campaigning.
"We have targeted 13,000 registered voters," he said sitting among boxes of letters, envelopes and address labels that have to be put together for his next mailing. He determined that those between ages 18 and 35 have made up less than 15 percent of those who cast votes in past local races. People who exercise their right to vote in this city -- and I expect in most of the state -- are older residents.

He seems to be organized and well-financed to be able to send out such a large mailing. Incredibly, he said he still has to sign every single letter, insisting that it's important that he place his John Hancock on each. It's the personal touch.
Headquarters is empty because his volunteers are a block away, at the Lincoln Inn. Yun was throwing a social event for them in appreciation of their work. While we talked he received a cellphone call from his wife that they were waiting for him. I walked him over to the renovated and reopened local eatery and the candidate was warmly greeted. Some wore yellow windbreakers with Vote Ward D and the election date on the back.

"They look organized and good in the uniform," Yun said.
Outside for a smoke, Yun said he started his business when he came to Jersey City in the 1970s. "Working here and living with friendly and honest people, right away this felt like home," he said in a serious tone about his 30-plus years in the city. "It breaks my heart to see these people being taken advantage of by those in City Hall."

He says that he is not a proponent of tax abatements. "I'll say no to any of them," Yun said, adding the city has neglected the Heights. It sounds familiar.

Of the possibility of a new administration, Yun said that if things don't change during the first term then there should be yet another new administration. "I would run for mayor," he said with a Cheshire Cat smile.

His team is planning a Mother's Day lunch, with two seatings. He had 150 people for lunch at his headquarters on St. Valentine's Day and expressed pride in their ability to plan, organize and complete a project. It's the way he wants City Hall to run.
"Come by and see the lunch," he said just before taking a deep drag.

POLITICAL INSIDER

-- Healy's campaign is spending as money quick as it is being raised. The mayor has raised about $785,000 since the campaign started and he now has $85,000 left in the war chest, according to the latest state election reports. Fulop has about $300,000 spending cash left. Let's face it, we're all in the wrong business. Apparently TV ads and consultants are devouring the money.

There will be some additional fund-raisers in the future. Fulop is planning his last soiree for May Day -- coincidence? It will be at the Downtown beer station Zeppelin Hall, and the theme: Take nothing for granted.

-- Healy had a tough mayoral debate Thursday evening at the Mary McLeod Bethune Center in Ward F. Sponsored by the local branch of the NAACP, it was obvious that there was some anger directed at the mayor. Things came to a head when the moderators were bypassed and some NAACP officers were allowed to ask questions of the candidates.
At one point, when the candidates were asked about school vouchers, all the candidates said they were against it. Fulop said that the mayor had written a letter to state authorities about being in favor of vouchers, and Healy demanded a chance to respond. And I'm paraphrasing here, but NAACP officer Frances O. Thompson told Healy he couldn't respond, adding that he had had 10 years in office to do so. It triggered a raucous response from the audience.

Some of the mayor's entourage were livid over how Healy was treated and at the end of the debate they told some moderators and others how they felt.

BTW, it seemed to most observers that former basketball star Jerry Walker had the crowd on his side.

-- Oh yeah, almost forgot. The state Department of Education issued a report this week accusing West New York Mayor Dr. Felix Roque of using the school district as a political patronage mill. A special written report says the first-term pol has political patronage in a school system. Shocking.
Because there is no other state report, I would have to surprisingly assume there is no political patronage in the county schools or any other school district. But you already probably knew this.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/voices/index ... ys_coat.html#incart_river