Shocking.

Vega is right behind Healy in the slime dept.

Council appoints Kenny

Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Jersey City City Council candidate Philip Kenny has a seat at the council table even earlier than he might have hoped.

Six members of the council voted last night to appoint Kenny to fill the Ward B seat left vacant by Councilwoman Mary Spinello, who resigned last month to head the Jersey City Parking Authority. One member was absent and one abstained on the vote.

Five of the six council members who voted to support Kenny's appointment are running with him on Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy's slate in the May 12 election, causing political opponents to cry foul.

"You create an opening and then you fill it with your own person. That's an outrage," said Andrew C. Hubsch, who is running for council-at-large on mayoral candidate Dan Levin's slate.

Before the meeting, Ward B candidate Paul Catsandonis said the appointment was a "mockery."

"It only shows how insecure the Healy slate is," he said.

Council members Mariano Vega, Willie Flood, Peter Brennan, Michael J. Sottolano, Bill Gaughan and Steve Lipski all voted for the appointment, saying they believe Kenny is the best qualified person to represent the West Side.

Councilman Steven Fulop abstained, saying he likes Kenny but didn't like the process Council President Vega was using, and Councilwoman Viola Richardson was absent.

Richardson, Vega, Flood, Brennan, Sottolano and Gaughan are all running with Kenny on Healy's slate.

"I think it would be an injustice - if we feel this is the best person to be the interim council person - to deny him this position simply because he is running for office," Sottolano said.

Kenny declined to comment.

Besides Kenny and Catsandonis, the other candidates running for the Ward B seat are Michael J. Manzo, Arthur "Artie" Williams and Douglas Salters.

AMY SARA CLARK

Council to pick Spinello's replacement Monday

Friday, April 03, 2009

The Jersey City City Council will meet Monday to appoint a replacement for Mary Spinello, who resigned last week as Ward B's councilwoman to head the Jersey City Parking Authority.

City Council President Mariano Vega confirmed that Philip J. Kenny, who is running for the seat with Vega on Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy's slate in the May 12 election, is one of the possibilities, but said that his appointment for the West Side council seat is not a forgone conclusion.

Council members Willie Flood, Peter Brennan, Michael J. Sottolano, Bill Gaughan and Viola Richardson are also running on Healy's slate.

Ward B candidate Michael Manzo said he would like to be considered for the fill-in appointment, while Ward B candidate Paul Catsandonis and City Councilman Steven Fulop have said the seat should be temporarily filled by someone who will not be on the ballot so as not to give any candidate an edge.

The meeting will be in the City Council Chambers at 5 p.m.

AMY SARA CLARK

Is is true that she didn't make the nomination for re election? They must have felt bad and awarded her a different post. I guess she's a lifer working for the city no matter where she's not wanted.

Quote:

Here you go:

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... _replace_spinello_on.html

For some reason I see Phil Kenny (Healy's Ward B candidate) filling in the Ward B seat until the May election. Slick move Healy.

Spinello leaving council to lead Parking Authority

Thursday, March 26, 2009
By AMY SARA CLARK
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Ward B Councilwoman Mary Spinello has announced she is stepping down from her seat as of April 1, when she will take the helm of the Jersey City Parking Authority.

The first-term councilwoman made the announcement at last night's City Council meeting, where her colleagues praised her service and presented her with a dozen roses.

"I truly enjoyed what I did (on the council)," she said with tears in her eyes, in an interview after the meeting.

"But (the move) is a great challenge for me. I'm moving my career in a different direction, but I'll still be able to work for the people of Jersey City."

Spinello said she would look at the structure of the JCPA "to make sure manpower is being utilized properly," try to make "people's experience with the authority more friendly," and work on providing more parking for both residents and commuters. She also wants to focus on long-range planning.

"It seems like we're hung up on doing things piecemeal. We're not looking at the big picture," she said.

Spinello comes to the position of CEO after serving six years as deputy executive director of the Jersey City Incinerator Authority.

She will replace Mark Russ, whose contract expired in November and who has since held the position on a temporary basis.

The JCPA board approved Spinello's appointment at a meeting Tuesday night.

Spinello, who ran on Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy's ticket in 2005, had not been seeking re-election. She said she made the decision not to run again because her "life was moving in a different direction."

The City Council has 30 days to appoint a temporary replacement for the seat. All Ward B residents ages 18 and over are eligible, said City Clerk Robert Byrne.

Spinello will make $98,000 per year in her new position.