Healy to Fulop: let's make a deal

Although Jersey City Municipal Clerk Robert Byrne has sided with the city against one of Councilman Steve Fulop’s ballot initiatives, the signatures for hi anti-pay-to-play intiative,were certified today.

But that initiative might not make it on the ballot after all if Mayor Jerramiah Healy has his way, depriving Fulop of a chance to make his case directly to the voters of Jersey City.

Healy wrote a letter today to Byrne, members of the city council and Fulop’s legal team proposing an amendment to Fulop’s pay-to-play initiative.

The amendment would require candidates to file personal financial disclosures when entering a race. If the candidate is running against someone who makes $500,000 a year or who has a net worth of $2 million or more, then the rules set forth in Fulop’s initiative that bans pay-to-play do not apply.

“While pay-to-play regulations such as the initiative currently before the City Council seek to eliminate the appearance of favoritism in the awarding of government contracts by limiting political contributions from contract awardees, an unintended consequence is that they create a disadvantage to candidates of modest means,” wrote Healy, who said that such rules “only exacerbate the disadvantage of these non-wealthy candidates.”

If Fulop agrees to the amendment and the city council passes it, then it won’t have to be on the ballot in November. But Fulop, who’s laying the groundwork for a mayoral bid next year, will want that initiative to remain on the ballot.

It’s Fulop’s call, but the mayor will be able to frame a rejection as Fulop favoring rich candidates.

“We hold the cards now, is really what it comes down to,” said Fulop.

Fulop said he’ll consider Healy’s amendment – once Healy decides to do something about city council members taking more than one public salary.

“I got his letter, and my initial take is that, in my experiences with Jerry Healy he has never kept his word about anything,” said Fulop So there is a trust issue as always. My goal and the petitioners’ goal is a better Jersey City. I’ll discuss it with the other petitioners and we’ll go from there. But the way Jerry Healy has handled the salary situation certainly jeopardizes any trust.”

“We will consider the amendment when he considers our amendment that there’s no double dipping on that council.”