Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop agrees with Gov. Phil Murphy (D) regarding Councilwoman-at-Large Amy DeGise’s hit-and-run, stating “let the court system play it out” during an interview this morning.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Look, I think I’ve been pretty clear: there’s no reason you should ever leave the scene of an accident or crash, and at this point, I don’t have any jurisdiction any more than the governor does and I agree with everything that the governor has said,” Fulop said after a ribbon cutting ceremony for the Jersey City Global Charter School.
“Let the court system play it out, the legal process, and then we’ll take it from there.”
Earlier this month at a groundbreaking in Kearny, Murphy called DeGise’s July 19th hit-and-run “behavior that’s unacceptable,” but stopped short of asking her to resign.
About a month ago, Fulop told NJ Spotlight that DeGise should not have left the scene, but has not weighed in publicly since CCTV footage of the incident has been released, along with surveillance footage showing her arriving at the West District Police Station six hours later.
If DeGise were to resign before the next city council meeting on September 8th, the remaining eight council members would select her replacement and there would be a special election for the at-large seat on November 8th.
However, that scenario seems particularly unlikely at the moment, given that DeGise was clear that she has no plans to resign at last week’s council session, despite facing opposition from a few dozen residents who asked her to step down.
Thus far, only Councilmen James Solomon and Frank Gilmore, who ran independently in last year’s municipal races, have asked DeGise to resign. She received two traffic tickets for the incident and will have them heard in Essex County Superior Court.
Amy DeGise, a former Hudson County Democratic Organization chair and the daughter of Hudson County Executive Tom DeGise, and the remaining council members successfully ran alongside Fulop.
I don’t always agree with the Mayor on certain issues but regarding this issue, I as a former law enforcement officer with over 30 odd years of service can not understand why people are pushing so hard for Ms. DE GISE to step down? I know that Jersey City has a boat load of people that are pushing this issues in order to gain favorite with some of the people who may think they are or have the power to help them down the road. If this is the case I have a bridge to sell you. Let the court system handle this issue it may take time but true justice will resolve this matter.