Jerramiah Healy

Former council candidate Jimmy King’s complaint against Nidia Lopez has grown some legs in Jersey City and Orlando.

The Jersey Journal reports today that Florida officials are investigating Lopez for claiming a tax break on her Orlando home that required her to be a permanent resident, and that they’re seeking repayment of the money she saved from it.

PolitickerNJ.com first reported on Tuesday that the recently defeated King filed a complaint against Lopez attempting to invalidate her election.  

Lopez was sworn in yesterday.  At the inauguration ceremony, she said that she did not want to talk about the charges because it was a “day for celebration,” but referred inquiries about it to her attorney, William Northgrave. 

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy today called former council candidate Jimmy King’s residency challenge to newly sworn in Councilwoman Nidia Rivera Lopez “sour grapes to the 10th power.”  

“This is an effort to achieve through the courts what couldn’t be achieved through the election process, and you know, the election wasn’t even close,” said Healy just after being sworn in to a second full term as mayor.  “Her not living here is a joke.  She of course lives here. She does have a house in Florida.”

Lopez, who ran on Healy’s slate, beat King, who ran on former Assemblyman Lou Manzo’s, on the first ballot.  Manzo and his at-large running mate, former Hudson County Sheriff Joseph Cassidy, tried to knock Healy out of the race through legal challenges, alleging that he tried to use his position as Jersey City Mayor to dissuade Bradley Beach police officers from arresting him for obstruction of justice in 2006.

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani is trying to talk current Mayor Michael Bloomberg into endorsing Chris Christie for governor of New Jersey, and Bloomberg may be listening.

The endorsement is far from a sure thing, but a source familiar with the talks said that the billionaire mayor, still sore over Governor Jon Corzine's opposition to his congestion pricing plan last year, might be willing to jump into the fray to support Christie.

Last April, fearing that the plan would impose higher fees on New Jersey commuters, Corzine called it "outrageous."

Giuliani political advisor Anthony Carbonetti acknowledged said that "there are definitely conversations taking place" between Bloomberg and Giuliani.

"Rudy is supportive of both Mike and Chris and would love to see them get together" he said.

Although not as politically active in New Jersey as Giuliani, Bloomberg has waded into politics here before.  Two months ago, Newark Mayor Cory Booker endorsed Bloomberg for reelection to a third term as mayor.  Last year Bloomberg endorsed 5th District congressional candidate Dennis Shulman, a Democrat, and in April he held a fundraiser for Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy, who runs the powerful Hudson County Democratic Organization, along with his running mates.  Both support strict gun control measures - a pet cause for Bloomberg.

Democrats say that guns will be an issue that Bloomberg may have a hard time looking past.  State Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Teaneck), who is widely considered to be at or near the top of Corzine's shortlist for Lieutenant Governor, wondered aloud whether Christie's stances gun control and abortion would derail any potential endorsement.

"I would assume that Bloomberg would be really interested in knowing that the [Christie] doesn't even believe in the one handgun a month limit... Does anyone really need more than 12 guns in a year?' she said.   "Combine that with a woman's right to choose, and I would guess that Mayor Bloomberg doesn't have a lot in common with Chris Christie."

*Updated

After almost completely dominating Jersey City’s May municipal election and last night’s runoff, members of Mayor Jerramiah Healy’s team are engaging in an internal contest. 

Council President Mariano Vega wants to hold on to his position at the head of the governing body.  But at-large councilman Peter Brennan, who made a play for the position four years ago, is trying again. 

Reached by phone, Vega acknowledged that Brennan is challenging him for the post. 

“I have heard about it, but I’ve been focusing on this reelection more than anything else,” he said. “I’m going to be focusing in on this issue now.”

Peter Cammarano has a narrow 88 vote lead over Dawn Zimmer in the race for Mayor of Hoboken after about 600 absentee ballots were counted.  Zimmer led Cammarano on the machine vote 5,786-5,542, 51%-49%.  There are about 80 provisional ballots left to be counted.

In the race for City Council, Carol Marsh, Ravi Bhalla and David Mello, running on the Zimmer slate, are ahead.

Carol Marsh 5,621
Ravi Bhalla 5,623
David Mello 5,419
Angel L. Alicea 4,832
Vincent Addeo 4,953
Raul Morales 4,826

In Jersey City, Ward A Councilman Michael Sottolano defeated Roland Lavarro 57%-43%, and Ward F Councilwoman Viola Richardson defeated Ronnie-Calvin Clark 63%-37%.  Both incumbents are allied with Mayor Jerramiah Healy.

Runoffs in Hoboken, Hillside and Jersey City will dominate politics in New Jersey today. These races are technically non-partisan, although in some cases party organizations are playing an important role in these races.

Councilwoman Dawn Zimmer and Councilman Peter Cammarano meet in a runoff to become the 37th Mayor of Hoboken.  The two-term incumbent, David Roberts, did not seek re-election.

Zimmer was the top vote getter in the May municipal election four weeks ago, edging out Cammarano by 212 votes, 3,614-3,402.  Councilwoman Beth Mason, who finished third in a field of six candidates with 2,330 votes, has endorsed Zimmer.  The Hudson County Democratic establishment, and Senate President Richard Codey, has endorsed Cammarano, who is an attorney at the firm of Democratic power lawyer Angelo Genova.

Three Hoboken City Council seats will also be decided in today's runoff election.  Ravi Bhalla, Carl Marsh and Dave Mello, running with Zimmer, face Cammarano's running mates, Vinny Addeo, Angel Alicea, and Raul Morales.  Addeo and Morales originally ran with Mason.

In Hillside, Councilman Jerome Jewell and businessman Joseph Menza compete in a runoff for Mayor.  Last month, Jewell led Menza by 201 votes, 1,368-1,167 in a field of four candidates  Jewell has the strong backing of Hillside Democratic Municipal Chair Charlotte DeFilippo, who is the Union County Democratic Chair.  The Democratic Governors Association has put $10,400 into this campaign.  Three Councils seats are also up for grabs. Mayor Karen McCoy Oliver is not seeking re-election.

In Jersey City, where Mayor Jerramiah Healy won a landslide re-election last month, two incumbents who ran on the Healy slate will compete in a runoff election for City Council seats.  Ward A Councilman Michael Sottolano faces Rolando Lavarro, and Ward F Councilwoman Viola Richardson is challenged by Ronnie-Calvin Clark.  Lavarro and Clark ran with mayoral candidate Louis Manzo.

Two Republican County Chairmen are fighting to keep their jobs tonight.  In Gloucester County, incumbent Loran Oglesby faces Bill Fey, and in Passaic County, Assemblyman Scott Rumana (R-Wayne) is seeking re-election against Carl Mazzie, a Totowa attorney allied with former GOP County Chairmen Peter Murphy and Michael Mecca.

Salem County Republican Chairman Paul Reed has decided not to run for another term.  Former Freeholder Michael Facemyer is running unopposed for the post

There was one exception to the overwhelming victory of Mayor Jerramiah Healy and his slate in Jersey City last Tuesday. 

For all but one council seat, candidates from Team Healy either won outright or were the top vote getters but still have to face a runoff next month.  Only in Ward E did Healy’s candidate suffer a blow.  With 63% of the vote, independent incumbent Councilman Steve Fulop, who has spent most of the last four years at odds with Healy, won reelection with a larger plurality than any other candidate in the city – including the Mayor himself. 

Some Fulop supporters are already talking about Fulop running for mayor in 2013 as if it’s a done deal.  Fulop, of course, won’t make that commitment yet, but he noted that he will be starting off his next term in a good position.

“We will grow from here,” he said during a conversation over Instant Messenger, adding that he has $175,000 left in his campaign coffers – about half of the total he raised for this election cycle. 

HCDO Chairman Jerramiah Healy

HOBOKEN – Although Hudson County Democratic Chairman Jerramiah Healy says he doesn’t want to intrude in the Hoboken mayoral runoff between At-Large Councilman Peter Cammarano and 4th Ward Councilwoman Dawn Zimmer, the party’s presence in the mile-square city may be larger than even Healy’s considerable machine capabilities.

“We’re not going to do a damn thing,” said the county party chairman, who just won re-election as mayor of Jersey City. “You won’t see me in there. I don’t know that we’d help either candidate if we went in there. I’ve certainly known Pete longer than Dawn, but we’re just not doing it. I’m conflicted because Carol Marsh is on the other team, and we have a decent relationship. All things considered, it makes sense to stay out.”

But sources in the state party say the chance to land Cammarano the job as mayor may be too tantalizing to resist in a gubernatorial election year, particularly when his opponent is scrambling to replenish her campaign coffers for their June 9th face-off.

If Healy won’t actually leap up onto a stage to endorse Cammarano, the state party is positioned to engage on the councilman’s behalf. Sources say Cammarano will be able to count on bodies, money and resources from the state party’s apparatus.

Jersey City is expected to consider a change to their form of government that would move from May non-partisan elections to partisan elections, with a June primary and a November general, according to sources close to the Hudson County Democratic leadership.  Democrats were slightly alarmed earlier this year when former Mayor Bret Schundler, a conservative Republican, was emerging as the strongest potential challenger to Mayor Jerramiah Healy, the Hudson County Democratic Chairman.  A partisan election would make only the Democratic primary relevant.

Sources say that the idea to switch from non-partisan to partisan was initially offered to Healy by George Norcross, the South Jersey Democratic leader.  Camden and Gloucester Township have also moved from non-partisan to partisan local elections.  Democrats feel their Gloucester Township mayoral candidate, former Assemblyman David Mayer, has a better chance to oust Republican incumbent Cindy Rau-Hatton in November than he would have in May.

Click here to view the Winners & Losers Special Edition for the 2009 Jersey City mayoral race