Jerramiah T. Healy (born December 16, 1950) is a

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

-based politician who served as the 48th

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Glenn D. Cunningham and was elected in November 2004. In the

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

, he defeated Acting Mayor L. Harvey Smith. He was subsequently elected to a full term by a record landslide. Healy entered public service as an assistant prosecutor for the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office in 1977. From 1981 to 1991, he maintained a private law practice in Jersey City. He was appointed Chief Judge in the Jersey City Municipal Court in 1991, and was reappointed in 1995. In 1997, he ran unsuccessfully for Mayor of Jersey City against

Bret Schundler Bret D. Schundler (born January 14, 1959) is an American Republican politician from New Jersey. Schundler was the mayor of Jersey City from 1992 until 2001. Schundler was the city's first Republican mayor since 1917. He ran for Governor of New ...

, who later ran for

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The official r ...

against Jim McGreevey. Healy resumed his private law practice until 2004, when he was elected mayor. Healy lost to Councilman Steven Fulop for mayor in 2013.

Early life

Jerramiah Healy was the fourth of five children born to Daniel and Catherine Healy, Irish immigrants who met and married in Jersey City. His father died when Healy was five years old. He attended St. Michael's Grammar School in Union City and Xavier High School in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, and is a 1972 graduate of

Villanova University Villanova University is a private Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Augustinians in 1842 and named after Saint Thomas of Villanova. The university is the oldest Catholic university in Pennsy ...

. Healy attended

Seton Hall University School of Law Seton Hall University School of Law is the law school of Seton Hall University, and is located in downtown Newark, New Jersey. Seton Hall Law is the only private law school in New Jersey, and, according to the ''U.S. News & World Report'' rankin ...

, and supported himself as a

bartender A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but ...

and an ironworker. Lincoln Pk ECGW ribbon cutting jeh

Electoral history

The sudden death of Mayor Glenn Cunningham in May 2004 triggered a

. Among the eleven candidates, Jerramiah Healy won Cunningham's unexpired term with 17,401 votes (27.8%) out of 62,641 cast. Other than the unusually high number of candidates, the election was notable for the rabidly negative nature of the campaign. The attacks included the distribution of a photo taken of Jerramiah Healy on his porch in Jersey City, passed out and naked. Healy stood for re-election in May 2005, facing only token opposition from Melissa Holloway, a former city councilperson, and Alfred Marc Pine, who had received less than one percent of the votes in the special election. Healy received 18,349 (75%) of the 24,414 votes cast. Healy sought re-election in

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; Protests ...

, running as an agent of change and promoting his record of putting extra police on the street and reducing violent crime in Jersey City. His critics challenged his claims during the campaign. Nevertheless, on May 12, 2009, Healy was re-elected with nearly 53% of the vote; former

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

man Louis Manzo was the runner-up with 26%. Six of Healy's nine running mates for city council won outright on election day, two faced runoffs on June 9 and one lost to incumbent Steven Fulop in Ward E. Healy lost his bid for another term as mayor on May 14, 2013 to Councilman Steven Fulop.

Arrest and conviction

Healy claimed to have been "roughed up", maced, and arrested outside his sister's bar in Bradley Beach in 2006. Cops allege he was interfering in a police investigation. Healy claimed that he was attempting to intervene in an argument between a couple outside the bar. His claims were rejected by the court and he was found guilty of obstruction of justice on June 22, 2007. Healy appealed the decision while trying to portray himself as having broad public support. On July 2, 2008, Healy's appeal was denied by the state appellate court which upheld Healy's conviction. During his appeal, it was revealed that Healy had attempted to influence the arresting officers. Healy filed suit against the officers in question, alleging that they violated his right to free speech (the case was ultimately denied). Healy appealed to the State Supreme Court and was again denied. Healy had a similar charge reduced to violation of a noise ordinance on a guilty plea in August 1999.

Gun legislation advocate

He is a member of the

Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition Everytown for Gun Safety is an American nonprofit organization which advocates for gun control and against gun violence. Everytown was created in 2013 when Mayors Against Illegal Guns and Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America joined forc ...

, a

bi-partisan Bipartisanship, sometimes referred to as nonpartisanship, is a political situation, usually in the context of a two-party system (especially those of the United States and some other western countries), in which opposing political parties find co ...

group with a stated goal of "making the public safer by getting illegal guns off the streets." The Coalition is co-chaired by former

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Mayor

Thomas Menino Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 53rd mayor of Boston, from 1993 to 2014. He was the city's longest-serving mayor. He was elected mayor in 1993 after first serving three ...

and former

Mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a c ...

. As part of his efforts at removing guns from Jersey City, Healy pushed an ordinance banning the sale of more than one handgun per month per customer. This ordinance was found unconstitutional in state superior court, and an appellate court affirmed that result.Disappointing, But the fight isn't over
However, the New Jersey government has since enacted legislation creating similar limits statewide.

References

External links