Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop maintained a 6-3 council majority as Denise Ridley, Mira Prinz-Arey, Councilman Rich Boggiano and James Solomon came out victorious in the runoff elections.Â
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Ridley will succeed Councilman Frank Gajewski in Ward A, crushing her opponent, Joe Conte by just over a 2-to-1 margin (1,639 to 808).
“Thank you to everyone for everything that you did, I really appreciate it. Thank you for your love for Greenville and for helping us move Ward A and Greenville forward,” Ridley said at a victory party at the Zeppelin Hall Biergarten.
In Ward B, Mira Prinz-Arey overwhelmed incumbent Chris Gadsden, defeating him by over 20 percentage points, 1,555 to 986.
“I would like to echo Denise’s sentiments and thank the residents of Ward B and for your vote, I’m looking forward to work for you,” she said.
This was Gadsden’s third election in 13 months, after pulling off an upset over John Hallanan last November.
He narrowly survived the municipal elections on November 7th, making it to the runoff by just 26 votes, but was unable to keep pace with his Fulop-backed opponent at the polls today.
Fulop was appeared to be in good spirits when he grabbed the microphone, even though Boggiano bested his Ward C candidate with relative ease.
“It wasn’t a perfect day today, John [Hanussak] was a great candidate, it didn’t work out for us in every ward, at the end of the day that’s a decision of the residents of Jersey City and we’ll work with everybody,” the mayor said.
“But today, we got two great, great women over the goal line.”
During brief remarks to the dozens on hand, Hanussak thanked everyone for their support, assuring them “I’m not done yet.”
Over at Gia Gelato & Cafe on Newark Avenue, Solomon was elated to pull off the upset over Rebecca Symes, who had received the endorsements of several local elected officials last week, but she was still bested by 249 votes.
“When it seemed like we had no chance at winning, you guys had faith in me and that means the world to me,” Solomon told a room of a few dozen supporters.
“You guys know, I talked about it during the campaign, me being diagnosed with lymphoma, and then recovering from that, and how that really made me think about what I wanted to do with my life,” he added, noting that his dad always wanted to run for public office but never had the opportunity to do so before passing away unexpectedly.
Speaking to Hudson County View, Solomon stated that he plans on keeping his independent stance on the council, while still being a functional, accessible member of the governing body.
Despite claims to the contrary, he also said that he was “proud to have run an ethical campaign” and brushed off talk of paving the way for an eventual mayoral run.
“I’m focused on being the best council person possible for Ward E,” stated Solomon.
