This old FMF Corpsman wishes you were on the ticket with some other Marines this year instead of another Ward C candidate that I believe has brought dishonor to her position.

I wish I could vote for you sir but unfortunately I don't live in your ward. Although I'm not sure if I agree with all your positions I respect your intentions and commitment to the city. Best to you. If elected I know you will serve with grace, honor and dignity.

Be well Marine. Semper Fi

Has anyone gone to Rich Boggianos' website, www.boggiano2013.com , and viewed his videos? They're quite refreshing and informative on his views for Jersey City. He has several videos about his views on Property Tax, Schools, the Police Department and Development.

I'm not big into politics, but he's got my vote for Ward C.

http://www.boggiano2013.com/video-series.html

Thank you very much for your kind words Shadrack! What a wonderful thing to wake up and read today after seeing so many friends and neighbors at our fundraiser last night. Thank you!

Semper Fi

Good luck today Rich. Working and don't think I can get away.

I was born and raised in Ward C, and my mother still lives a few blocks from Mr. Boggiano. I don't know him personally, but I do know what he's done for the ward over the years.

During my 30 plus years in the Ward, it was always considered one of the more desirable places to live in Jersey City during the downward spiral that other parts of the city suffered during hard economic times. While the Downtown section literally burned during the 1970's, Ward C maintained its decent neighborhoods and sense of community because of the robust Hilltop Neighborhood Association, no nonsense committee persons, and in large part because Richard Boggiano was at the forefront of our efforts. Whether there were representatives including students from Dickinson High School at a meeting to address concerns about vandalism and quality of life issues or hosting mayoral debates at St. Joseph's Church, it was Richard Boggiano working hard to have Ward C's concerns front and center.

The same cannot be said about his opponents who are good people, however, when there were concerns in the neighborhood over the years, the first question always was, "Did anyone contact Rich?" I believe that the qualities that make Steve Fulop a popular councilperson such as his quick response to citizen's concerns are in line with Mr. Boggiano's values. As a retired police officer who had no problem disagreeing with his own department's policies, I believe that his efforts and commitment to the Hilltop will be unmatched.

That Mr. Boggiano is not a candidate on a slate has its disadvantages as far as having the logistics and perhaps funding for a campaign, but because he is not beholden to a mayoral candidate, I think that he may be the independent voice of reason on the council.

Moreover, Mr. Boggiano is interested in the things that make Jersey City a unique place. He knows its in depth history and is genuinely concerned about its future.

I can't vote for you Rich and if you saw me on the street, you probably wouldn't recognize me, but I wish you luck and hope you finally represent the ward in city hall.

Semper Fi

Hi Oneskirt:

Your criticism is valid. In the future I will add meaningful commentary if I post anything from the paper. At the same time, if you have any questions about any specific issues, either citywide or Ward C in general I am happy to answer them.

I would also like to refer you to the interaction I had with everyone on this forum during the 2011 special election. It paints a much clearer picture of me because of all of the back and forth:

http://jclist.com/modules/newbb/viewt ... =280209&keywords=boggiano

My experience on JC List is that most people on here are 1) skeptical of newcomers and 2) hostile to any perceived manipulation of this forum. For that reason, most candidates just stay away to avoid confrontation. In the past I have taken a different approach and found it worthwhile and enjoyable. If you take a look at the link above I think you'll get a good sense of that.

Rich, I can appreciate that you want to promote yourself. But can you please do more here than re-post articles and just say "Vote for Rich" or "Please donate to my campaign/come to my fundraiser"? Can you please talk to us about what you plan to do to improve Ward C...real, actionable items?

Why should we vote for you?

Thanks.

Jersey City election 2013: Syed drops out of Ward C council race

By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal
on March 26, 2013 at 12:14 PM

One of the five candidates running for the Jersey City Ward C City Council seat has dropped out of the race, citing an upcoming work conflict.

Imtiaz Syed, who ran unsuccessfully for an at-large seat in a 2011 special election, thanks his supporters in an email he sent to local media outlets.

?I have been actively involved in the issues and challenges facing Jersey City for the last four decades, and will continue to do so in (the) future,? Syed writes.

Syed is a former chair of the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency board. In the 2011 race, he came in eighth out of 17 candidates.
This year?s race in Ward C, which encompasses Journal Square, finds incumbent Councilwoman Nidia Lopez battling former Jersey City police detective Rich Boggiano; business analyst Janet Chevres; and activist Adela Rohena.

Lopez is running on the council slate of mayoral hopeful Councilman Steve Fulop, while Chevres is running with Mayor Jerramiah Healy and Rohena with Jerry Walker.

His decision not to run in this year?s city race is potentially good news for Boggiano, who is now the only candidate in the race running independent of a mayoral ticket. Boggiano, who heads the Hilltop Neighborhood Association, made a strong showing in the 2011 special election, coming in sixth despite a late entry into the race.

The election is May 14. The mayoralty and all nine council seats are up for grabs.

Neighbors:

My campaign is holding a fundraiser this Wednesday night from 6-9pm at Reflections on Newark Ave.

Location:
Reflections
646 Newark Ave
Jersey City, NJ
(3 blocks from the Journal Square Path)
Donation: $50

Thank you and I hope to see you there.

Ballot positions were drawn today. I'd like to ask everyone in Ward C to vote Boggiano Column 5C on May 14th!

I will post a copy of the full ballot in a day or two once it's published by city hall.

Know it all!

Quote:

Certified: Boggiano; Councilwoman Nidia Lopez; Healy's candidate, Janet Chevrez; and Imtiaz Syed, who ran in the 2011 special election.

Adela Rohena, a one-on-one teacher's aide who is running with Jerry Walker, submitted petitions yesterday but has not been certified yet.

No one else filed petitions to run, so it will be that first group and possibly Rohena.

How many ward council candidates are certified for Ward C, and who are they ?

I wanted to post my interview with Hudson County TV here:

http://hudsoncountytv.com/news/rich-b ... rges-of-police-brutality/

I also wanted to take the opportunity to address one of the comments to the interview listed below by one of my opponents:

1. She says that she received a visit from "special investigators" after lodging a complaint on behalf of her constituents. I find it hard to believe that two police officers would risk their careers trying to intimidate a sitting city councilwoman who was also elected on the ticket of the current mayor. Furthermore, if she really did believe that the intent of the visit was police sponsored intimidation then what did she do about it? Did she file a formal complaint? Speak with the police chief or mayor? If a city councilwoman won't take on something that she clearly believes is wrong then what hope do her constituents have?

2. I firmly believe that community relations are the answer to so much of the distrust between the police department and different ethnic communities in the city. Villainizing the police may feel good, but it doesn't do much to solve our problems. It's also no secret that Jersey City can be a very dangerous place: In my early years as a patrolman I was on the losing end of a number of fights and was nearly killed during riots near Hamilton Park in the 70's when thugs were throwing cinder blocks off the roof of buildings smashing my patrol car as I was trapped inside. We have come a long way since those days, but crime is still too high in Jersey City and community relations needs to be part of the answer. As one quick example, in 2004 with the 9/11 attacks were still very fresh in everyone's memory, I started a program bringing West Point cadets to Jersey City to interact with a number of ethnic communities (Arab, Muslim, Coptic, Indian, Pakistani, Jewish, African American, etc). The program has been a huge success and gave the police department a reason to interact with local ethnic leaders. Groups who were once terrified of the police and suspicious of each other are now good friends. Still, Jersey City is a big city and we need to do so much more.

I know that coming on this particular forum and 1) disagreeing with someone on Steve Fulop's ticket and 2) defending the police department isn't likely to get a great reception, but know this: I believe Jersey City is a great city and we should live up to our name. We need to encourage police officers to stay here once they start families rather than flee to the suburbs because they can't afford to send their kids to private school and fear what will happen if they send them through the public school system. The same goes for teachers, fireman, and too many other public servants.

Quote:

Boggiano's got a decent chance at winning the race. It's between him and Lopez, and the question is who knows and brings out their voters better. HCDeadO votes for Chevres probably cut more into Lopez voters.

As a retired police officer, though, Boggiano should not be so sensitive to disappearing campaign signs. Last year "Boggiano 2013" signs appeared all over town, almost always in illegal locations, while he was making up his mind what he was going to run for. If people keep tearing down these illegal signs, maybe it will discourage candidates from breaking the law before they're in office.

Boggiano Likes His Chances in Ward C Council Race

With just about two months until May?s election, only two of the five Ward C Council candidates are certified, meaning they received the required 195 signatures to appear on the ballot. One of those candidates is incumbent Ward C Councilwoman Nidia Lopez. In office since 2009, Lopez has joined mayoral candidate Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop?s ticket, which to date has raised more money than Mayor Jerramiah Healy. The other certified candidate, as it turns out, is not Healy?s Ward C candidate, Janet Chevres (None of Healy?s slate is certified yet).

Rather, it?s independent candidate and retired police detective Rich Boggiano, the long-time president of the Hilltop Neighborhood Association. A two-time candidate (Boggiano briefly considered running in 2009 before opting out), Boggiano first announced his candidacy in September of 2012 but only just started campaigning in earnest recently after hearing potential candidate slate-suitors and planning strategy.

Still, the two months of campaigning that remain this time around is twice as long as he campaigned in 2011?s special election for two of the city?s At-Large seats. Back then Boggiano?s decision was as last minute as candidacies get? thirty days and $15,000 in campaign expenditures later, Boggiano finished a respectable sixth place out of a field of seventeen. Boggiano?s 2,643 votes may have been 900 shy of At-Large Councilman Rolando Lavarro, the second-place finisher, but he also ran an abbreviated campaign and wasn?t bracketed with At-Large Councilwoman Viola Richardson, the highest vote-getter in that election. (On the strength of that showing Richardson was rumored to be considering a run for mayor; instead, she opted to join Healy?s ticket.)

But as confident as Boggiano is ? ?I?ve never run from a fight,? he says, ?just ask anyone in the Hilltop Neighborhood Association,? ? he knows Jersey City politics are never pretty.

?I?ve put up a slew of campaign signs and they?ve all disappeared,? he said. Though Boggiano refrained from making outright accusations, he has some strong suspicions.

?If it is who we think it is,? says his campaign manager Tom DeLuco, a local realtor, ?we?ll find them.? That?s because Boggiano?s team of volunteers have been hitting the streets hard, handing out campaign literature and meeting people, as has the candidate himself.

?That?s the way to win campaigns,? says DeLuco, ?you go out there and meet people.? Though this is only his second time managing a campaign (the first was Boggiano?s run in 2011), DeLuco says this is easier than managing a real estate business. The substance is the same: hit the streets, knock on doors, shake hands and ?sell your product.? With real estate that?s work, but ?with Boggiano, it?s easy,? he says, even while shying away from calling him a product. ?People know Richie, and they like him,? he says.


Yet the challenge looms: Fulop has money and volunteers, Healy has the name and experience, and neither is supporting Boggiano.

?It?s about how you use resources,? argues DeLuco, not the amount of resources at your disposal. ?It?s about who will make contact with the people who will vote for you, the campaign is not necessarily connected to the amount of money raised.?

?I?m happy to be independent,? adds Boggiano, saying that although both camps approached him, he?s happy to be going it alone. While he wouldn?t divulge whether those talks got past the preliminary stage of feeling things out, he says there?s no place he?d rather be.

?I was told I?m too independent to join a slate,? he says, which is fine by him. ?I fight for the neighborhood.?

That?s why Sean Mallahey, a long-time friend and Healy supporter who says Boggiano is the right person for Ward C. ?I consider myself in touch with the community and I?ve never heard of Healy?s candidate.? (Janet Chevres is on Healy?s ticket.) While Mallahey says there are ?certain things Healy could improve on,? he thinks ?if we had some guys like Rich Boggiano? those changes would be a reality.

What?s been lacking in Ward C, says Boggiano, is a Councilperson who speaks with the people. Although he says he likes Ward C Councilwoman Nidia Lopez as a person, he can?t forgive her vote for the Robinhood Plaza settlement, which would change the zoning to permit a 42-story building among 1- and 2-story homes. (At the time of her vote, Lopez said development and jobs were too important to pass up.)

?Ward C needs proper development with people in mind,? he says. Which, interestingly, is how he and DeLuco connected. Indeed, DeLuco says he holds meetings with the community before he builds, which he describes as not only the respectful thing to do, but sometimes where a developer can get some ?good ideas.? In one meeting, Boggiano and he connected, and have been friends since since.

And with the promise ? or threat ? of a 50+ story building coming to Journal Square, a Council person who will fight to keep that development appropriate for the neighborhood is crucial, argues Boggiano. ?If I get in, I?m pro-development, but with people in mind.?

Another of Boggiano?s biggest beefs is something the entire city seemingly relates to: not enough police officers, not enough foot patrols, not enough attention to the quality of life. In fact, as a veteran of the Jersey City police department for over thirty years, Boggiano recalls the days of a 1,300 officer police force. Those days are gone, he says, because of decisions at the top that go back almost twenty years. Currently there are 802 police officers according to city documents.

Boggiano?s record, which includes both successful and unsuccessful fights, has taken the administration to task for their seemingly hands-off approach to the sale of Christ Hospital, the closing of the city?s police academy, and the threat of laying off police officers two years ago. Christ Hospital ultimately remained a not-for-profit hospital, for which Boggiano helped drum up attention, and the lay-offs were averted, but the police academy is history. ?It?s shortsighted,? he said of the decision.

If two years ago $15,000 got him a 6th place finish with almost no campaign time, DeLuco sees $25,000 as all that?s needed for the more local ? and more pro-Boggiano ? Ward C race.

?I have to tell you something,? said Boggiano. ?I?m not political, I believe in what I?m doing.?

?Too many people are playing politics or on a power trip or are doing it for their personal gain,? Boggiano says. That means ?nothing will change.?


http://www.jerseycityindependent.com/ ... ward-c-council-race/March 7, 2013

Welcome to jclist Rich. You've done a lot of good for the city over the years.

Neighbors,

I'm running for city council in Ward C and wanted to re-engage everyone on this forum as the election is only a couple of months away. If you are reading this, my intention with this post is to make sure you know that I am running and offer you an opportunity to ask me questions.

Although I did not win in the competition for one of the at-large council seats in 2011's special election, I punched well above my weight considering how little money I spent and the short duration of my campaign. In fact, I am proud to say that I won Ward C in that election as I garnered 20% more votes than the next highest contender in a field split among 17 candidates.

I've been fighting for my neighbors for well over 30 years now as President of the Hilltop Neighborhood Association. I believe in honesty, transparency, and treating other people with dignity and respect. I served for 37 years on the Jersey City Police Department - living in the city the entire time. I raised my kids here, pay taxes here, and have seen an enormous amount of change over the years. Progress has come in fits and starts, and while we have come a long way, I believe that I can best help Jersey City move forward as an elected city council member.

If you know me and would like to volunteer, I'd love to hear from you. If you don't know me, I'd love the opportunity to earn your vote.

If you'd like to visit my website:
http://jcboggiano.com/

Thank you,

Rich