“Voter turnout has been very light today,” said Dale Hardman, a Jersey City Democratic committeeperson who sat on the corner of Erie and 3rd Street and handed out cards for his neighbor, Dan Levin (who was campaigning a block away on 2nd Street). “Maybe it’s the beautiful weather, kids had off of school today.”

Hardman, a bilateral amputee, had been on the corner since 9:30 am. He said that as long as they came out to vote, he would be happy if citizens selected any of the candidates for the two at-large council seats — except for Ray Velazquez, Kalimah Ahmad, or Viola Richardson, the three candidates who missed the last public forum.

“If they disparage people by not coming to forums to answer questions of transparency, I don’t think that shows much,” said Hardman.

Disagreeing with Hardman about the day’s turnout was Emily Kondes, an election challenger, and Frank Scalcione, owner of Frank’s Famous Pizza on Monmouth Street. Kondes had been standing in front of the church steps since 10 am, and said the flow of voters seemed especially heavy for a midterm.

“People seem more engaged,” said Kondes. “They’re mad, and it sends a message.”

Scalcione was just visiting Grace Church on his self-appointed get-out-the-vote rounds. “This morning, I got on the bus on Newark Avenue and Monmouth Street and rode one stop up the hill just to yell out, ‘Don’t forget to vote!’” he said. After this visit, he planned to head to a site in Ward F. “I’m saying hello to everybody,” he said.

On 2nd Street, each corner was dominated by campaigners. The west side of the street had a quiet cluster of men milling around large signs for Velazquez-Ahmad — plus Dan Levin himself. The east side of the street had fewer people, but with louder pipes.

Samuel Gutierrez had been shouting the same mantra since 6:30 am: “Vote for Sue Mack, Omar Perez for council-at-large! Polls open till 8 pm!” He made sure every passing driver had the chance to wave away a proffered flyer for the bracketed team.

Would all that yelling contribute to a later bout of laryngitis? “No, no sore throat tonight,” said Gutierrez. “I’m an old pro.”

As he began to once again yell out his familiar phrase, one of the men on the Velazquez corner shouted, “Vote for Samuel Gutierrez!”

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.

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.

- Oral arguments in the Powerhouse Arts District Neighborhood Association’s (PADNA) lawsuit to limit the size of the planned Toll Brothers development in the PAD begin today. The Toll project calls for 950 units housed in three towers of 30+ stories. The original Powerhouse Arts District Redevelopment Plan, passed in 2004, called for limiting new projects to 10 stories to preserve the historic warehouse vibe of the neighborhood. The Council amended the Plan in April to allow Toll’s project to proceed. The list of groups filing as “friends of the court” or joining the lawsuit reads like a who’s-who of downtown community activism: the Harsimus Cove Association, the Historic Paulus Hook Association, Van Vorst Park Association, Newport Neighborhood Assn, Civic JC, Pro Arts, and “a representative” of Hamilton Park Association are all involved. Read more from the PADNA’s website.

- In related news, Sonia Maldonado and Robert Vivien are in a legal battle to decide who has the right to call his or her group the “Newport Neighborhood Association.”

- The property owners owed nearly $19 million by developer Peter Mocco are starting to worry that he isn’t good for it. The city’s last offer to Mocco for the property owned by Ronald, Lynn and Katherine Kerrigan was $3.8 million. The Jersey City Redevelopment Agency — which took the property by eminent domain in ’04 and gave it to Mocco as part of the Liberty Harbor development — lost a fight to get a new trial last week, and they are planning an appeal.

- Earl Morgan takes a look at how the city has handled — or not handled — abandoned properties. The city is apparently “cracking down” on the properties (the JJ says there are 500+ in JC), and hearings for nine buildings are scheduled for Dec. 19, and a second batch of them are expected to go to hearings in January. The buildings either get bulldozed or redeveloped, with the ‘dozer the most likely option.

- A third person — an 18-year-old homeless man — was arrested in conjunction with last week’s “old-lady cart” homicide case in the Heights. HudCo prosecutor Edward DeFazio says there was evidence that people had been drinking in the house, and that an argument led to the homicide, but not surprisingly he is not giving the public any more detail than that. And the paper doesn’t explain what the 18-year-old’s connection to the case might be. Let’s hope this one’s on the up-and-up.

- The front-pager today: A 41-year-old man was shot near Lincoln Park on Friday night and has died. There are precious few details about the case thus far.

- Sam Pesin of the Friends of Liberty State Park has an interesting letter to the editor today, regarding the JJ’s claim earlier this month that the Liberty Science Center hasn’t been a great neighbor to the city. Pesin applauds the bailout/bridge loan to the Center, and gives a couple of interesting facts. The Center “helped spearhead” the “Destination Jersey City” campaign, which was undertaken to generate more tourism, but looks like a bit of a cash drain to us. The Center also investigates contaminated water, presumably from around the city, under a program sponsored by Pfizer.

In this weekend’s Reporter:

- The Reporter talks to Lou Manzo about his decision to run for mayor. Manzo says he was indeed waiting for Sandra Cunningham to announce if she would run (she’s said she will do so in January), but with her camp non-committal, he went ahead and threw his hat in. He also takes a slightly-veiled shot at Cunningham, telling the Reporter: “Anyone who is a potential candidate in this race and has not made a final decision is causing potential candidates for council to hesitate. And that hesitation is helping no one.”

- In the same story, Frank Scalcione says he will run for an at-large seat instead of the Ward E seat, in light of Steven Fulop’s decision to try and retain his Ward E seat.

- The Reporter disappoints with a lame almost-advertorial for the m650 Flats, a new condo development on Montgomery St. near the Beacon development.

- In his Between the Lines column, Al Sullivan briefly tackles the mayoral race, noting that Fulop’s chances to win that office were undermined by former Mayor Bret Schundler, who is running, and by Cunningham, who may run. Citing “reports from merchants on Central Avenue,” Sullivan says Schundler already has a full slate of candidates, and will announce in January.

In statewide news:

- The Senate’s Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee will hear arguments about proposed law to legalize medical marijuana. The Star-Ledger reports that the bill’s vetting will be “contentious process that will spill into an election year.”

- The repeal of the state’s death penalty turns one.

- Senate Majority Leader Stephen Sweeney is calling on Rutgers president Richard L. McCormick to resign in the wake of the problems and scandals that have been revealed about the athletic department. And Star-Ledger columnist Mark DiIonno tackles the history of the football/RU relationship.

- Columnist Paul Mulshine questions the conventional wisdom that Chris Christie has the GOP nod for governor wrapped up if he decides to run.

- A series of hearings are underway across the state to shed light on the ways the state’s criminal justice is flawed, hear suggestions on how to improve it, and improve the process of re-integrating ex-offenders to society upon release.

It’s a TV-tabloid-news kinda day at the Journal, so we don’t have much for you. Mostly its car crashes, 2-year-olds being shot, bank robberies, dog “maulings” and celebrities at a trading firm (Joe Montana in Jersey City…sorry, I think that’s the only time I’ll ever be able to write that phrase).

HudCo is planning to establish an Office of Planning and Energy, as part of the HudCo Improvement Authority, to oversee renewable energy initiatives. Just another locality trying to jump on the Obama money train. Good to see it took the County this long to set something like this up. Also, if, as Freeholder Bill O’Dea says, “There’s no greater infrastructure investment than investing in energy efficiency in public buildings,” why is the huge roof of the County’s new building conspicuously missing solar panels? In our opinion, its a perfect spot for solar, and it’s not like the County can’t afford the initial outlay.

The Society of the Friendly Sons of Saint Patrick of Hudson County is trying to get an “Irish Famine Monument” built in Liberty State Park. So far the group has: the backing of Healy, Tom DeGise, and unnamed other pols; as well as $25k of the $65k they need. But what they are lacking is state DEP approval. The DEP’s Division of Parks and Forestry told the Society in July that its application was denied because there are other monuments in LSP “directly or indirectly” dedicated to the same idea. The group intends to keep raising cash and lobbying the state.

Ward E council candidate Frank Scalcione, better know to some as the Pizza Man, has a letter in today’s paper that must have been written weeks ago, about the Liberty Science Center bailout. His letter breaks with Scalcione tradition and actually makes sense, and is reasonably well-argued (well, *mostly*). He raises questions we have thought about as well: Why approve the loan before getting a detailed look at the Center’s finances?

In statewide news:

- The Obama administration is set to announce former DEP commissioner Lisa Jackson as the new head of the EPA

- Embattled Rutgers athletic head Robert Mulcahy was fired yesterday, after more and more revelations of the department’s unchecked power and shady dealing in pushing for big-time football (Note to Rutgers president Richard L. McCormick: you actually will have to change policy too, not just fire some high-profile officials. We’re watching.)

- Same-sex marriage could become a big campaign issue next year’s Gov. race.

- Republican Congressmen Smith and Frelinghuysen vote with the entire NJ Dem. contingent on the auto industry bailout