Buttressed by Jersey power structure, 'unpretentious' Healy runs on his record

JERSEY CITY - Professing to be an agent of "change you can see," Mayor Jerry Healy launched his bid for a second term tonight in the politically muscle bound company of Gov. Jon Corzine, Senate President Richard Codey (D-Essex), State Party Chairman Joe Cryan, Newark Mayor Cory Booker and no fewer than three congressmen.  

The apparent backing of longtime local foe, Councilman Steve Fulop, drew some bewildered gasps from the crowd here at the Culinary Arts Institute, and one of Healy's three challengers, former Assemblyman Lou Manzo (D-Jersey City), later admitted of the councilman's presence at the event, "I'm surpirsed." 

But as Booker would point out when he formally endorsed his "older brother mayor" tonight, Healy now has some legitimate U.S. Capitol cred to add to his street level capital.

Healy backed President Barack Obama in the primary last year, one of an early handful of New Jersey elected officials to do so, and his campaign slogan, done up in blue and gold at the podium two days after the swearing-in of America's 44th president, implied that Healy's already been toiling as precisely the kind of change-agent elected official Obama promised to be on the national level.  

"I'm asking for your support; we're not done delivering change," said Healy, who identified crime as the number one issue in New Jersey's second biggest city and promised to build on first term initiatives, which included the swearing-in of 260 new police officers, buying 1,000 guns off the streets, and implementing a nationally recognized anti-gang unit.

Son of a North Bergen tavern owner who was killed in the bar he owned by a man he was trying to help, Healy, 58, worked his way up to become a municipal judge and married Maureen, a nurse, whom he first met not far from tonight's kickoff ceremony, in Journal Square.

It was a big, packed event for the compact and grinning mayor, whom one official after the next built up as a blue collar gem who's earned his place in the party as a loyal and authentic urban leader, unafraid to tell it like it is regardless of his audience.

"He's straightforward," Corzine told the crowd.

The governor's observation about the mayor followed a metaphorical joke by Codey featuring Corzine struggling with a snake, and a minuteman reference by Booker in which the Newark mayor talked about taking up his rifle in the cause of democracy. 

When it comes to Healy, "You don't have to take out a dictionary to find out what he's talking about," Corzine said. "He tells me when he doesn't like something I'm doing. ...He's a good and decent man."

Applauding Healy's efforts as he endorsed him, the governor noted that while construction has ceased nationwide, 3,400 apartments are going up in Jersey City.

"We make it very clear," Healy later told a standing room only crowd that remained excited throughout, "that if you intend to build here, you should train and hire Jersey City resdients." 

U.S. Rep. Albio Sires (R-West New York), who opened an office in Journal Square at the urging of Healy, said, "He's one of the easiest individuals to work with. There is nothing devious or pretentious about him." 

The stage fairly creaked under a broad range of state and countywide power players, including U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman (D-Fair Lawn), U.S. Rep. Donald Payne (D-Newark), state Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Union), Assemblywoman Joan Quigley (D-North Bergen), Morris County Democratic Party chairman Lew Candura and Assemblyman Vincent Prieto (D-Secaucus).

But it was the presence of a long time nemesis that elicited more than a few groans of wonderment from the crowd. 

As he read Fulop's name from what seemed at first like an exhaustive list of elected officials - which staff members supplemented with airport-style signs held up urgently in the crowd lest someone be slighted - even County Executive Thomas DeGise said, "I paused on that one a little bit."

Healy critic Fulop backed Manzo in the latter's unsuccessful 2007 state senate bid. Following the young councilman's announcement that he wouldn't challenge Healy for mayor there was some speculation he might run on a slate with Manzo.

Fulop's appearance at the ceremony notwithstanding, Manzo took news of the mayor's kickoff in stride, slapping aside Corzine's onstage attempt to link a 23% drop in statewide crime to the streets of Jersey City.

"Violent crimes and murders are up in Jersey City," said Manzo. "We are bucking the trend. People here know how unsafe their streets are."

A statehouse maverick when he served in the assembly for one term before he and his running mates fell to an organizational ticket masterminded by Healy, Manzo said he was unimpressed by Healy's version of a laser lights show in the form of a lot of elected officials from out of town.

"I've seen that before, where you bring in the governor and the star power, but at the end of the day this mayor has implemented a 34% tax increase during his time in office and he's been there during a crime wave," said Manzo, who is challenging Healy in a May 9th election among a field of candidates that includes Assemblyman L. Harvey Smith (D-Jersey City) and activist Dan Levin.

Making the case for the mayor at tonight's kickoff, Booker said he and Healy hung together at a time when the Bush administration cut aid to cities, and hung together when they endorsed Obama.

"The President owes him a favor," said Booker. "At a time when he has chips to call in from D.C., you don't vote him out of office. That would be like being ahead 21-0 in the Superbowl and changing quarterbacks."

Manzo bristled when he heard the quote.

"That's an insult to Obama," he said. "The President is not that crass. The only people cashing in are the mayor's former law partners with the MUA contract."

"I've run against Lou before," said DeGise, "and his punches hurt."

But the big crowd in the new the Culinary Arts Institute responded repeatedly to genuine guy stories about Healy. When she introduced him, the mayor's daughter Catherine called him a true public servant, a man who once accepted a family's payment of a home grown brown bag of asparagus for his legal services. 

"Does he deserve it?" Codey asked the crowd of Healy's reelection. "You're damn right he does!"

In a nod to this year's gubernatorial election amid the furor of bad economic times, Codey acknowledged Corzine standing onstage near Healy.

"I know the governor's back there," Codey told the Jersey City crowd. "I mean, let's be honest. He can't print money. Vote for him as well."

****UPDATE: Fulop released a statement this morning regarding his presence in the crowd.

"Like most elected officials that have an interest in May’s election, I attended Mayor Healy’s event last night. While I admit it was impressive, it shouldn’t be taken as a show of support for his re-election or a sign that I am running on his ticket. The fact is I attended a Dan Levin event just two days ago and met with Lou Manzo as recently as this past weekend. It is likely that I will be running for re-election on a ticket with a slate of candidates but I am still reserving my option to run independently in my ward.”