Jersey City Ward B Councilman John Hallanan, who is entrenched in a three-man race for his seat on November 8, co-hosted a meet and great with the Education Matters Board of Education team at the New Park Tavern last night.
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“What happens in November is gonna change our country, it’s gonna change our ward and it’s gonna change our school board. And there probably hasn’t been a more consequential election in quite some time,” Hallanan said in front of a room of about 50 supporters.
“So, it’s so important that we get out the vote: we remind everyone our friends, our neighbors, our family to get out the vote. And when I took this position in June, I knew I was taking a big job and I wouldn’t be able to do that without people around me who I believed in and I support.”
After introducing the Education Matters slate of Angel Valentin, Gina Verdibello and Sudhan Thomas, Hallanan spoke with Hudson County View about why he feels both he and the Jersey City Education Association-backed ticket should be elected on November 8.
“I’m working on a lot of quality of life issues, ya know one of the first things I did was I got an ordinance through the city council that allows for private homeowners to have security cameras as part of the city’s overall surveillance system,” the councilman explained.
“It’s a volunteer program and it’s no cost to them, no cost to the city I should say. Their location and participation is totally anonymous. So we’re doing things like that to try and get more people involved and participate in crime surveillance.”
Hallanan also noted that he has a measure ready for the November 9 council meeting that would create a restaurant overlay zone that aims not only to provide amenities to residents, but also creating new job.
When asked why he was supporting the Education Matters slate, Hallanan said “all politics is local” and that he personally knows each candidate and believes they are capable of achieving what the Jersey City public school district needs.
Hallanan is running against Lekendrick Shaw and Chris Gadsen in the special Ward B council race, while the Jersey City BOE has 10 candidates seeking three, three-year terms on the board.
