Bret Schundler

Hudson County Republican Chairman Jose Arango supported Bret Schundler in his past gubernatorial bids, but whether he’ll support the former Mayor’s bid to return to Grove Street is an open question.

“I have to go to the Jersey City Republican Party and ask them what they want to do,” said Arango during a phone interview.

The mayoral elections in Jersey City are non-partisan, which made it possible for a Republican like Schundler to win in a crowded field in 1992. Now, with Schundler looking to run again, Arango finds himself with a tough decision. He’s the city’s Director of Economic Development, and has given significant campaign contributions to Mayor Jerramiah Healy, a Democrat.

But he’s also found Schundler to be a loyal ally in the past.

“Schundler always supported me, and I always supported him. I have to do what’s right for the people,” he said.

DENVER -- Assemblywoman Joan Quigley (D-Jersey City) is candid about her feelings on the upcoming Jersey City mayoral race.

She’s with Mayor Jerramiah Healy. Not that it’s unusual, considering he’s chairman of the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO). She wasn’t in 2004, however, when he ran to replace the late Glen Cunningham.

“He was a dark horse at that point and I didn’t know him well,” she said. And while his status as the head of the powerful Democratic organization could certainly win him friends, Quigley said that’s not the reason.

“I learned to like him a lot better before that happened.”

Daniel Levin, founder and past president of Civic JC, a citywide good government organization, announced today that he is a candidate for Jersey City mayor.

"I am running for mayor of Jersey City as a clear and distinct alternative to both the past administration and current candidates," said Levin, who is challenging Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy.

"I will bring the public back into the decision-making processes of Jersey City government, lead a more open, transparent, responsible government accountable to constituents, reduce conflicts of interest through campaign finance and ethical code reforms, advance an alternative economic vision for the city that will provide needed jobs for our inner-city residents, and make Jersey City a better employer through sound management practices," Levin added.

He said in the coming months, he intends to build a coalition of reform-minded council candidates and run with a full council slate.

Bret Schundler, who served as mayor of Jersey City from 1992 to 2001, will challenge incumbent Jerramiah Healy in 2009
In 1999, the late William F. Buckley recognized a rising star in conservative Republican circles named Bret Schundler, who had been mayor of Jersey City for six years. Seeing Schundler as a potential presidential prospect, he wrote in the New York Post: "Look for him in 2008."

Nine years and two gubernatorial losses later, any presidential dreams Schundler once harbored are gone. But we can look for him in 2009, because Schundler has all but made it official, acknowledging that he plans to run to return to Grove Street next year, eight years after he left the office.

"This is not a formal kickoff announcement, but I do plan to run," said Schundler in a phone interview.

Schundler served between late 1992 and 2001, when he decided to forego reelection to run for governor. But the Schundler of 2009 will likely bare little resemblance to the conservative candidate who unsuccessfully sought the highest office in the state in 2001 and 2005 - at least not if he can help it.

"I think I'm pretty much done with partisan politics," he said.

As U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie prepares to run for Governor, he has the luxury of a clean slate ideologically: Getty Images Photo
Yesterday, when veteran Republican political operative Dan Gallic announced that he was forming an organization to draft conservative activist Steve Lonegan into the Governor's race next year, he lamented the candidates Republicans typically choose for statewide races as "weak-kneed wimpy moderates who believe in nothing and are afraid to throw a punch."

Today, Gallic said that language doesn't apply to the two other most high profile potential candidates next year: U.S. Attorney Christopher Christie and biotech millionaire John Crowley.

"I was referring to the past slew of candidates who have lost by 9 or 10 points," said Gallic, who managed conservative State Sen. Joe Pennacchio's run for U.S. Senate earlier this year. "So far what I've seen is a far better group of candidates than the Republicans have put up in quite some time, all of which have no ties to the establishment at this point."

Prospective mayoral candidate Bret Schundler’s conservative record was raised last night in one of the first attacks of the developing Jersey City mayoral race.

At a rally touting the establishment of a task force to fight crime against Jersey City’s LGBT community last night, Walt Boraczek, founder of the Hudson Diversity Action Council and an ally of Mayor Jerramiah Healy, ripped into Schundler’s record on gay rights, both as mayor and as a gubernatorial candidate, calling him “homophobic.”

Schundler, who was mayor from 1992 until 2001, is considering running for mayor again. The city holds non-partisan elections, and Schundler was initially narrowly elected in a crowded field of candidates. He went on to form alliances with key Democrats on the council to hold the seat. Last night’s rally was a clear indication that Schundler’s rivals will use his conservative record against him in this Democrat dominated city, should he choose to run again.

Things appear to be getting a little prickly between Jersey City Councilman Steve Fulop and former Mayor Bret Schundler – two prospective candidates in next year’s mayoral election who share the same base of voters downtown.

At issue are the two ballot initiatives Fulop plans to put on the ballot in November – one which enacts a pay-to-play ban and another that bars city council members from accepting more than one public salary.

The initiatives also work as an organizing tool for Fulop, who’s used dozens of volunteers in the effort and hopes that it will increase his name recognition outside of his own Ward E.

After Fulop turned in enough signatures to get the initiatives on the ballot, Schundler came out wholeheartedly in support of them, and mentioned that he’d be willing to hold a joint press conference with Fulop in support of them.

Fulop, however, shot down that idea.

Former Jersey City mayor and two-time gubernatorial candidate Bret Schundler, who’s mulling a return to City Hall, said today that he supports the ballot initiatives championed by Steve Fulop, another prospective mayoral candidate, and would go as far to hold a press conference supporting it.  

“They very much follow in the footprints of the ethics reforms I proposed during my gubernatorial campaign in 2001,” wrote Schundler in an email to PolitickerNJ.

The initiatives, which are likely to be in the November general election ballot, ban city officials from accepting campaign contributions from vendors with business before the city within a year of the contract’s start date and force City Council members to accept only one taxpayer funded salary. 

Here's a scenario: a former Jersey City mayor quits the post to make an unsuccessful bid for governor. After an eight year absence from the local political scene, he returns to run for mayor against 10 candidates, including an incumbent with a big war chest but who is under fire for raising property taxes, and a rising star named Cunningham.

The main issues in the campaign are taxes, crime and housing.

Sound familiar?

It probably does, and it's not just because that's one probable story line for the 2009 election.

Jersey City Heights businessman Michael Yun, a long time friend political ally of Bret Schundler, said that the former mayor and gubernatorial candidate will seek to reclaim the city's top office in 2009.

“He’s definitely going to run, yes, and we’re organizing,” Yun told PolitickerNJ in a phone interview this morning.

Schundler has spent the last couple weeks attending neighborhood meetings and asking local politicians for support, aided by Yun. He recently announced his mayoral intentions to a gathering of Hudson County Republicans at their reorganization meeting, though in less definite language.