Levin wants Healy to resign

Jersey City good government activist Dan Levin, who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in May, wants Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy to resign and the municipal government to install a host of reform measures in the wake of this week's corruption bust that gutted the city's political scene.  

“Given Mayor Jerramiah Healy’s confirmation that he is indeed the “JC Official 4” cited in FBI criminal complaints, we call for his immediate resignation, as well as that of Council President Mariano Vega.  The implication that both men have engaged in activities that compromise their ethical responsibilities to their constituents warrants their immediate removal from office,” said Levin.  

Healy was not arrested, but is mentioned frequently in the federal government’s complaint against Deputy Mayor Leona Beldini, city official Ed Cheatam and political consultant Jack Shaw, who allegedly solicited money from a federal informant to funnel into Healy’s reelection fund.

Levin also called on Council President Mariano Vega and Councilwoman Nidia Lopez to resign.  Vega was arrested Thursday for allegedly taking bribes, while Lopez is dealing with residency issues.

Levin, who founded the activist group CivicJC, laid out several reform measures the group wants to see passed, including pay-to-play reform; application of the state’s ethics code to local government; and a temporary stop to issuing permits and approvals for all new construction, development and redevelopment until anti-corruption safeguards are in place.

Levin finished fourth in a five candidate field in November.  The two challengers to Mayor Healy who finished above him – Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith (D-Jersey CitY) and former Assemblyman Lou Manzo – were arrested.