- Political consultant Joe Cardwell became the 12th official indicted in connection with the wide-ranging federal corruption sting that got rolling in July 2009 with dozens of arrests. Cardwell is charged with accepting $30,000 in bribes from informant Solomon Dwek in exchange for special consideration of a fictitious development project. His attorney told press yesterday that he intends to plead not guilty.

- Former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler, who was appointed in November of last year to Gov.-Elect Christie’s transition team subcommittee on education, got the brass ring yesterday when Christie named Schundler as his pick for state Education Commissioner. The move is also considered a win for charter schools, of which Schundler has been a strong supporter.

- Jersey City’s Haitian and Haitian-American community continues to organize relief efforts and help people contact or get information about loved ones affected by Tuesday’s devastating earthquake there. Last night about 50 people, including local elected officials, gathered at the Haitian Evangelical Church. The Jersey City Medical Center is planning to send a team of doctors and nurses to Haiti to assist in relief and recovery efforts there.

- Did you know that if ocean levels rise by just two feet, much of Liberty State Park would be underwater? As part of a project sponsored by the Museum of Modern Art and its affiliate P.S.1, the NYC firm LTL Architects has a plan for what to do with what’s left, transforming it into finger-like bits of land that jut out into the ocean, maximizing the amount of coastline and making it more absorptive.

- Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise was elected second vice chairman of the North Jersey Transportation Planning Authority, a position that puts him in line to become chair of that organization by 2014.

- In a letter to the Journal, local activist Bruce Alston bemoans the lack of African-Americans represented in citywide leadership positions.

Today’s Best Bets:

- The opening reception for “Sirens Song,” a new exhibition of work from John Besante, is at the 58 Gallery, while Manouche Bag will do its weekly “gypsy jazz” thing at Madame Claude’s.

In statewide news:

- Bob Martin, a retired utility consultant from Hopewell, is Gov.-Elect Christie’s pick for commissioner of the state Department of Environmental Protection. Early reactions from state environmental groups, such as the Sierra Club — which endorsed indpendent candidate Chris Daggett in last year’s gubernatorial race — have Martin pegged as a question mark.

- A consortium of East Coast commercial fishermen, including some in New Jersey, are protesting a proposed cut in scallop harvest by about 25 percent the next fishing season, as mandated by a council that oversees fishermen.

- Six private beach clubs in Sea Bright have agreed to allow public access to their beaches under agreements reached yesterday with the state Department of Environmental Protection.

- Newly-minted state Senate President Steve Sweeney, who took that position on Tuesday, gets his first run as acting governor today.

At-Large candidate Emilio DeLia and mayoral candidate Dan Levin check a cell phone for the latest election results

The One Jersey City team gathered at the Golden Cicada last night to celebrate both the end of a campaign and what they say is the beginning of a citywide movement. After the polls closed the candidates and volunteers made their way Downtown, spirits high, excited to watch the results come in.

For mayoral candidate Dan Levin, the moment was a special victory for local activists and community organizers. “It’s inspiring,” he said between smiles. “Regardless of the outcome, we built an organization, a movement. We got together and did something really good.”

The candidates and their supporters packed the Grand Street bar, laughing and joking about the last One Jersey City event, a break-dancing session at the Grove Street PATH station. Soon it was standing-room only, as more and more supporters arrived with their families and friends to wish the team one final good luck. Partygoers snacked and reminisced, snapping photos of friends and thanking the candidates for their willingness to challenge the political status-quo.

“Seeing all these people come out for us is really moving,” At-Large candidate Emilio DeLia said. “I don’t care how the polls come out at this point. We fought a good fight and made it to the end.”

As the results trickled in, the unfettered optimism of the candidates became decidedly muted. Clusters of people formed around iPhones, watching as the poll numbers appeared on the county website.

Ultimately, all five One Jersey City candidates fell short yesterday. Levin finished fourth in the mayoral race with 5.6 percent of the vote; in Ward B, Douglas Salters came in fifth, garnering 5.2 percent of the vote; Ward C candidate Norrice Raymaker finished third with 5.3 percent of the vote.

The ticket’s two At-Large candidates, DeLia and Andrew Hubsch, finished eighth and ninth in a field of 13, with 3.2 and 3.1 percent of the vote, respectively.

Many expressed frustration at the lack of voter turnout.

“I am really shocked that so few people came out to vote tonight,” Salters said. “People have been clamoring for real ‘change’ for years now … I’m surprised they didn’t take it.”

A little after 10pm, Levin spoke to the group, expressing pride in all that One Jersey City had accomplished — and reaffirming that the volunteer effort was just beginning. “We knew we were the little guy, but we weren’t doing it for us — we were doing it for everyone,” he said. “One Jersey City is not a political movement; it’s a community.” A few attendees wiped away tears, applauding Levin’s efforts in forming both an alternative political candidacy and in bringing people together people under a banner of reform.

The remarkable thing was that after the poll results had been switched off and the speeches made, hardly anyone had left — and a few minutes after the tears, people were laughing again. Someone even convinced the owner to turn on a bit of karaoke.

When asked what he plans on doing next, Levin said “at this point in time” he plans to run again in 2013, and he also pointed out that One Jersey City will morph into a sort of civic association or similar organization “to facilitate, encourage, mentor and fund political candidates.”

Levin also said his team will actively support Rolando Lavarro, Andre Richardson and LaVern Webb-Washington should they be the candidates in Ward A and F runoffs. (Right now Lavarro and Richardson are neck-in-neck for second place in A, while Webb-Washington barely trails Ron-Calvin Clark in F.)

Ultimately for Levin, losing the election doesn’t constitute failure or the end, but a beginning.

“The campaign was started to get regular people involved in local politics,” he said. “The end result was not the vote, but getting more people involved in the community building process in order to move towards a more accountable and responsive local government.”

Jon Whiten contributed to this report.

The eight candidates that participated included Emilio DeLia and Andrew Hubsch from Dan Levin’s One Jersey City ticket; Joseph Cassidy, Betty Outlaw and Lori Serrano from Lou Manzo’s slate; Ronnie Greco and Frank Scalcione from Harvey Smith’s team (Noemi Velazquez was absent); and Abdul Malik from Phil Webb’s ticket. Independent candidate Marie Day did not attend, and the entire Team Healy At-Large contingent — Peter Brennan, Willie Flood and Mariano Vega — were noticeably absent.

Each candidate was given one minute for an introduction. Due to the time constraint, only a single candidate per slate was permitted to answer each question. The questions were asked by members of the audience.

The audience questions mirrored some of the concerns of Downtown residents, and included the looming property tax revaluation, dual job holding (double-dipping) and improving public schools. Ward E councilman and candidate Steven Fulop got to reverse roles at the forum by asking a question rather than having to answer one. He asked candidates to identify the major challenges facing constituents.

The candidates agreed that a revaluation would be painful, but offered few specific suggestions for lessening the burden. In addition, most candidates expressed their opposition to double-dipping.

Lori Serrano added that providing cars to public employees for personal use should be banned. Abdul Malik and Emilio DeLia stressed lack of accountability in government as a major problem. Dealing with problems of families and seniors, and encouraging young people to finish school were Betty Outlaw’s key platform points.

The final question also served as the closing statement since time was running out. It was noted by the audience member that there was a high degree of similarity among the candidates’ positions. What will each candidate bring as an individual to the position as council member? With the exception of Joseph Cassidy, who touted that his experience as a police officer would make hime “eyes and ears of public safety,” the candidates expressed their earnestness, and to be responsive to their constituents, but did not emphasize their qualifications.

“Before I came to the meeting I didn’t have a clear decisive position on who I was going to be voting for,” Paulus Hook resident Kirsten Greene said after the forum. “After hearing them speak tonight I at least narrowed it down to four or five but I have not decided yet.”

Forum moderator and President of the HPHA president Jennifer Wagner said the evening was a success.

“We had great participation both by our candidates and by our membership,” she said. “A lot of people don’t know the candidates’ names, let alone their positions. Our goal was voter education and to increase participation and we got positive feedback as people were leaving.”

Steve Gold contributed to this report.

- The Statue of Liberty’s crown is slated to reopen on July 4 this year, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said yesterday.

- White House aide Louis Caldera has resigned over his role in the photo-op flyover that caused a stir in Jersey City and Manhattan.

- The city has installed three new CCTV cameras — at Bayside Park/Richard Street, the Montgomery Gardens Housing Complex and the Booker T. Washington Housing complex. The cameras were installed via a grant from the federal Justice Department.

In statewide news:

- The state is looking to set up a $2 billion line of credit to plug an expected revenue shortfall.

- The lead ACLU attorney in an ongoing lawsuit over cell phone tracking of New Jerseyans by then-U.S. Attorney Chris Christie says the state was among the most aggressive in the country in using this surveillance. The attorney was a guest on Blue Jersey Radio this week — you can hear the podcast here.

- More bad news for the Star-Ledger: It is cutting salaries and reducing the amount it pays into employee health benefits. Less than two months ago, the paper said it was stopping contributions into employees’ pension plans and forcing each staffer to take 10 unpaid furlough days this year.

- Princeton University, along with five other colleges around the country, will use Amazon’s newest e-ink device, the Kindle, in a pilot program aimed at reducing paper use.

Levin’s ad features three of his council candidate running mates, and has the same look and feel (modern, digital, clean) of his web-only campaign issue videos. Levin and Ward C candidate Norrice Raymaker, as well as at-large candidates Emilio DeLia and Andrew Hubsch, all give a brief “Why I’m Running” statement in the ad, covering topics like the Journal Square Redevelopment Plan, nepotism and the city’s affordability.

Smith’s latest ad takes footage from the campaign’s crime rally in the Heights and keeps its eye on the crime issue, but in a more uplifting way than his last ad, which hit Healy on crime stats. His ad also features many of his running mates, though they linger more in the background at the rally. This spot, which focuses on solving the crime problem rather than the problem itself, remains positively upbeat, from the music to the font use to the phrase “a better Jersey City.”

Big thanks to JCList.com for shooting the video, to Tris McCall for allowing us to use his music, to the candidates for showing up, and to the Riverview Neighborhood Association for putting the event together.

TAX ABATEMENTS: All Candidates Were Allowed to Respond

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT: Andrew Hubsch, Noemi Velazquez and Lori Serrano

ROAD REPAIRS: Peter Brennan, Andrew Hubsch and Mariano Vega

SMALL BUSINESS CULTIVATION: Emilio DeLia, Lori Serrano and Ronnie Greco

TAXES AND GOVERNMENT WASTE: Betty Outlaw, Noemi Velazquez and Ronnie Greco

DEVELOPMENT AND CRIME IN GREENVILLE: Peter Brennan, Joseph Cassidy and Betty Outlaw

TAXES AND SENIORS: Mariano Vega, Emilio DeLia and Abdul Malik

Photo by Steve Gold

Candidates for the City Council At-Large seat gathered on Tuesday evening to introduce themselves and field questions from voters at a forum held by the Riverview Neighborhood Association (RNA) in the Heights. About 75 people crowded into the dining room of the Harborview Health Center to hear from the candidates.

Eleven of the thirteen candidates were present. From Mayor Healy’s ticket, incumbent council president Mariano Vega and councilman Peter Brennan attended; councilwoman Willie Flood did not. Also present were: One Jersey City candidates Emilio DeLia and Andrew Hubsch; Joseph Cassidy, Betty Outlaw and Lori Serrano from Lou Manzo’s ticket; Ronnie Greco, Frank Scalcione and Noemi Velazquez from L. Harvey Smith’s slate; and Abdul Malik, who is running with Phil Webb. Independent candidate Marie Day did not attend.

Each candidate was allowed two minutes for an opening statement, in which they were asked to describe their view of the role of an At-Large council member and name the major issues they see facing the Heights. These introductions were followed by ten audience questions. Because of the large number of candidates present, not everyone was asked to answer every question: three names were chosen randomly to decide who would answer each. However, a question about the value of tax abatements provoked so much interest from the candidates as well as the audience that all candidates were permitted to speak on the issue: organizer and RNA chair Becky Hoffman jokingly called it a “bonus.”

The questions covered a wide range, including Heights-specific issues such as the condition of roads and development plans, as well as hot-button citywide issues such as abatements, property taxes, the practice of holding municipal or county jobs while holding elected office, and support for small business. Overall, the tone of the forum was quite lively, with some candidates — Downtown businessman Frank Scalcione in particular — becoming intensely impassioned while speaking, and cheers and jeers coming from the crowd in equal measure.

RNA founding member Maria Tuzzo, a lifelong resident of Jersey City, capped the event with a brief but stirring appeal to those present to avoid voting on the basis of personality, looks, cronyism or other irrelevant criteria, but rather to cast a vote “to improve this city.”

A consistent thread in the questions as well as the responses was dissatisfaction with the current administration’s record. Greenville resident Monique Snow, who is backed by mayoral candidate Lou Manzo in her run for the 31st District Assembly seat, directed her question to Brennan, a former Ward A councilman. Citing what she called the lack of recreational facilities in her neighborhood, she asked, “what plans do you have for Greenville?” Speaking after the meeting, Snow said that “nothing has improved in Ward A” under the incumbents. For his part, Brennan had on hand a “complete manual of everything the city offers for recreation.”

While Brennan and Vega defended their respective records and laid claim to a catalog of positive changes, the challengers at various points cited a lack of accountability, fiscal mismanagement, corruption and high crime as reasons to remove the current administration.

Although the overall temper of the crowd seemed rather unfriendly to the incumbents, not everyone was impressed by the challengers. Jersey City resident Bob Pagano said after the forum that he would be voting for the Healy team. “There are always some candidates who think they can knock down the incumbents by talking about things like abatements,” Pagano said. “The incumbents are doing a decent job.”

RNA chair Hoffman said she was pleased with the turnout for the event and grateful that most of the candidates were able to make it. She did say, however, that the candidates “could have done a much better job” of addressing the specific concerns of Heights residents and of “answering the questions as completely as possible.”

In contrast to the rather tepid routinized performances of the mayoral candidates at the Hudson Media Group debate, those who participated in yesterday’s event were highly energetic and, for the most part, satisfyingly specific about their policy plans. Even with the time restrictions necessitated by the large number of candidates, each one was able to get across his or her unique approach to the office of At-Large council member. In the end, that’s the best result a forum like this can have.

“We’re at a point in Jersey City where the public is almost completely excluded from the public process of government,” mayoral candidate Dan Levin says, explaining what prompted him to put together a growing roster of reform-minded people to gun for City Hall this year.

Levin, the longtime community activist who most recently was the founder of Civic JC, has been joined on the One Jersey City team by at-large candidates Emilio DeLia and Andrew Hubsch. All three will be at the Golden Cicada on Grand St. on Monday to talk to voters — and raise some funds — in the first of what Levin says will be a series of events held at local watering holes and peoples’ homes aimed at “creating environments to talk to people about what is important to them.”

The common chord the three candidates strike when talking about this election and the city in general is that the government of Jersey City is “dysfunctional,” as Levin says. They all talk about the need for city government to adopt policies and practices — like community policing — that have worked in other cities, and about putting power back into the hands of the citizens by having a more responsive and diverse Council. While they acknowledge that is an uphill battle in the notoriously insular world of Jersey City politics, they see no other way to fix the city’s problems.

“The only way to change the equation is to change the equation,” Hubsch says.

Hubsch has attempted to change the equation in city politics before. In what he calls a “reactive gesture,” the Paulus Hook resident and historical novelist tried to get on the ballot late in the game as a mayoral candidate in 2005.

“Literally, I got mad at the hypocrisy of Mayor Healy,” Hubsch says. “I walked up to City Hall and asked City Clerk Robert Byrne what I could run for.” He ultimately decided on mayor, since it required the same number of signatures as the At-Large Council seat, and he didn’t see the sense of taking potential votes away from Steven Fulop, who at the time was challenging Councilman Junior Maldonado for the right to represent Ward E.

While he ultimately fell a little short of the 1,197 signatures needed to get on the ballot, Hubsch says he felt that his message resonated, and he “was humbled by the efforts” of people mobilizing for him. Ultimately, though, he walked away from the experience with one key lesson. “If you want to do something, plan.”

That’s exactly what Levin has been doing for almost a year now. After continually “hitting a brick wall with city government” as a representative of community groups like Civic JC and the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy, he realized that “change is only going to come at the ballot box.”

So he began using his network to reach out to various neighborhood activists and other good-government types to convince them to run for mayor. When it became clear that no one was going to go for it, Levin decided that he needed to do it himself, took a leave from Civic JC and began his campaign.

Currently, the One Jersey City team is fanning out across the city trying to collect the signatures it needs to get on the ballot by the March 19 deadline. While only 1,392 signatures are needed for at-large and mayoral candidates, Levin says they plan on collecting between 2,000-2,500 just to be safe.

The campaign is hoping to reach out to first-time voters, including both unregistered voters and people who are registered but don’t turn out for local elections. “Over the last five or six years, more people have become more socially conscious, and they’re thinking locally,” Levin says. “They’re optimistic, even though the odds are against us.”

Fixing the Fiscal Mess

The city is facing a fiscal crisis, Levin argues, with the growing municipal budget not being matched with new recurring revenue sources. He says that the city desperately needs to diversify its tax base, in part by coming up with a real economic development plan that includes more than just office space on the waterfront.

“Make Jersey City truly business-friendly — for small businesses as well as developers and financial firms,” Levin says. The city already has the infrastructure in place to create a new base of small businesses specializing in light industry and specialty manufacturing, he notes, adding that there’s also an opportunity because Brooklyn and Queens recently rezoned much of their industrial space to residential, and many firms there are looking for a new home. Developing a strong light industry sector would have the added benefit of creating well-paid jobs for Jersey City residents. “You can’t develop a city on service-sector jobs,” Levin says.

Nor can you develop a city on tax abatements and a Payment in Lieu of Taxes (PILOT) program, Hubsch notes. “[PILOT] is at the root of a lot of the current financial ills,” he says. “Everything is connected to the lack of money coming in.” PILOT payments are pre-determined payments, instead of regular tax payments, that developers make to the city. PILOT money, however, does not fund the public school system. In addition, Hubsch points out that the city hasn’t done a citywide revaluation of property values since 1988, which could lead to a huge property tax increase for unabated homeowners when — or if — the revaluation ever takes place.

DeLia says that he’d like to see more of a discussion during this campaign about how the city is going to handle the property tax situation and the budget shortfalls. While he acknowledges that no candidate is going to run on a platform of fixing the budget — a process that could involve painful cuts or tax hikes — he wants to start the discussion. “Instead of scrambling for a quick fix, we should plan in advance,” he says.

Inspired by Obama

DeLia, who is also the One Jersey City campaign manager, has deep roots here, dating back to the 1910s when his great-grandparents came to the U.S. from Turkey and settled in Jersey City. He spent some time on the West Coast working as a motorcycle mechanic while doing community organizing with the Columbian-American Association and teaching English on the side, but came back to Jersey City in 2003.

He says that his love for Jersey City and his experience volunteering for the Barack Obama presidential campaign were the driving forces behind the decision to enter the political arena. “His whole idea of ‘change begins with us’ — I really took that to heart,” DeLia says. “Here’s an opportunity to live that.”

Already knowing Levin from Civic JC, DeLia decided early on that he would be a part of the slate Levin was putting together. Originally, he planned on running in Ward A, where he resides. But as he got more involved in the campaign, he started thinking about running city-wide.

That thought was cemented when he met with Andre Richardson, who is running for the Ward A seat. “I realized that he and I shared a lot of the same values,” DeLia says. “There was no sense in splitting the vote.” Richardson is not officially a part of the One Jersey City slate, but DeLia, Levin and Hubsch all say that as the campaign progresses, they will endorse candidates not on their ticket, and Richardson will likely be one of them.

Levin acknowledges that the One Jersey City ticket faces an uphill climb, but dismisses people who simply write them off as having no chance of winning. “Our counter is that every vote behind us is a vote for these ideas, for doing things differently than they’ve always been done,” he says. “If you believe you can make a difference, you can. … We don’t have to live with the current situation.”

When responding to the naysayers and cynics, DeLia draws on his experience competing in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

“You have to step onto the mat absolutely 100 percent sure you are going to win,” he says. “If you think, ‘I might lose,’ you have already lost.”

ON THE ISSUES:
We asked each candidate what they were thought the three most pressing issues facing the city. Here’s what they said:

Dan Levin:
1. City finances and budgeting: Wants to diversify the city’s tax base and help small businesses.
2. Public safety/crime: “People will not move or do business here if they don’t feel safe.” Wants to implement community policing.
3. Opening the government to the public: Wants to change city government from a top-down to a bottom-up approach.

Emilio DeLia:
1. Public safety/crime: Concerned about the unequal distribution of crime in the city — “Why is the crime rate in certain parts of the city higher than others?” Wants to implement community policing and have more cops out of their cars and out walking the streets.
2. City finances and budgeting: Wants all the candidates to put forth real plans on how to deal with budget shortfalls and future economic growth.
3. Opening the government to the public: Says neighborhood activists and concerned citizens would like to be involved with government, but now spend too much time fighting the government. “To them the government is another force of the dark side.”

Andrew Hubsch:
1. Opening the government to the public: “The disconnect between the electorate and local government manifests itself in many different ways.” He says that this disconnect fuels many of the city’s problems and points to property taxes as an example.
2. The quality of leadership: “You get bureacratic impediments to actual problem-solving.” Would open high-profile city positions to national talent searches. “Jersey City would benefit from seeking out the best and the brightest.”
3. Health care: Is excited by San Francisco’s health care plan, which “gives an avenue for everybody to buy into a health care system at a flat, affordable rate — for a safety net.” Would like to at least give a similar program a try here to lessen the burden — on hospitals, ambulances, and individuals — caused by the lack of health insurance.

Let’s Talk About the Future of Jersey City
The Golden Cicada
195 Grand St.
Monday, Jan. 19
7-9 pm
$15 suggested donation

For more, visit the One Jersey City website.