The City of Jersey City has placed former Mayor Jerry McCann, who now works as a senior auditor, on paid administrative leave as they investigate whether he is using city resources and/or city time to campaign for ex-Gov. Jim McGreevey, who is running for mayor in 2025.
“We can confirm Jerry McCann has been placed on administrative leave pending a hearing, at which point next steps will be taken,” city spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione said in an email following an inquiry from HCV.
“Broadly speaking, it is well known that McCann has become very close to Jim McGreevey, and while McCann is entitled to advise, support, and be in the inner team of whomever he wants in the upcoming mayoral campaign, he is not allowed to use social media, city resources, nor city time to bully residents or public officials on behalf of Jim McGreevey’s mayoral campaign.”
She added that the city would take the same approach for anyone participating in the campaigns of any other declared candidates, which also already includes Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea (D-2) and Council President Joyce Watterman.
In response, McCann indicated that his Twitter was hacked at some point and many of the posts he had come under fire for had not been done by him (though a few like one mocking local teachers for taking free turkeys was).
He also said that he does not currently have a city hearing scheduled and continued that city policy is that he cannot threaten his colleagues, which he did not do, and that he has not been doing any political campaigning out of City Hall.
“When Mayor Fulop comes to work every day, then we can conclude that he’s working as the mayor. But when he very rarely comes to work, we can conclude that he’s doing something else and he’s very, very rarely at City Hall,” McCann questioned.
“If he’s using a city police officer or city car to campaign for governor, that would be totally inappropriate.”
McCann also contends that he’s had friction with the administration since last week, when he made the assertion that 22 of the 25 five-year abatements were done improperly, alleging that cost the city $57 million in revenue.
Resigning in the midst of federal fraud charges in 1991, McCann eventually made a bit of a political comeback nearly two decades later: being hired by the Jersey City Incinerator Authority in February 2010 before winning a school board seat about two months later.
He has been an early supporter of McGreevey for mayor, to the chagrin of some others in the political class, who formally announced his candidacy on November 9th.
The non-partisan Jersey City municipal elections, which includes the mayor’s seat and all nine city council seats, aren’t until November 4th, 2025.