Jerramiah T. Healy (born December 16, 1950) is an American local politician who served as the 48th

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, 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 responsibilitie ...

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the List of municipalities in New Jersey, second-most populous

serving from 2004 to 2013. He ran for the unexpired term of the late 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, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

, he defeated Acting Mayor

L. Harvey Smith Leonard Harvey Smith (born December 19, 1948) is an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician who has served in the New Jersey General Assembly, General Assembly from January 8, 2008 to January 10, 2010, where he repre ...

. He was subsequently elected to a full term by a record landslide. Healy entered public service as an assistant prosecutor for the

Hudson County Hudson County is a List of counties in New Jersey, county in the U.S. state of New Jersey, its smallest and most densely populated. Lying in the northeast of the state and on the west bank of the North River (Hudson River), Hudson River, the No ...

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 Davis Schundler (born January 14, 1959) is an American politician from New Jersey who served as the 42nd mayor of Jersey City from 1992 to 2001. He remains the last Republican to hold that office. He also unsuccessfully ran for Governor of ...

, who later ran for

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

against

Jim McGreevey James Edward McGreevey (born August 6, 1957) is an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as the 52nd governor of New Jersey from 2002 until his resignation in 2004 amidst a sex scandal. McGreevey served in the New Jersey Genera ...

. 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. Healy was raised in

North Bergen North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 63,361, an increase of 2,588 (+4.3%) from the 2010 census count of 60,773, ...

and

Union City, New Jersey Union City is a City (New Jersey), city in the North Hudson, New Jersey, northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the city was List of municipalities in Ne ...

. 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 (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and is a 1972 graduate of

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic Church, Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Saint Thom ...

. Healy then 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. The school confers three law degrees: Juris Doctor, Ma ...

and supported himself as a

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

and an

ironworker An ironworker is a tradesman who works in the iron-working industry. Ironworkers assemble the structural framework in accordance with engineered drawings and install the metal support pieces for new buildings. They also repair and renovate o ...

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 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

, 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 Louis Manzo (born February 28, 1955, in Jersey City, New Jersey) is an American Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party politician who served in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2004 to 2008, where he represented the New Jersey L ...

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 non-profit organization which advocates for gun control and against gun violence. Everytown was formed in 2013 due to a merger between ''Mayors Against Illegal Guns'' and ''Moms Demand Action for Gun Sens ...

, 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 is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Mayor

Thomas Menino Thomas Michael Menino (December 27, 1942 – October 30, 2014) was an American politician who served as the 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 mont ...

and former

Mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

. 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

Biography of Mayor Jerramiah T. HealyJerramiah T. Healy Charitable FoundationDestination Jersey City
{{DEFAULTSORT:Healy, Jerramiah 1950 births Living people American people of Irish descent Mayors of Jersey City, New Jersey New Jersey state court judges New Jersey Democrats Seton Hall University School of Law alumni Villanova University alumni Xavier High School (New York City) alumni New Jersey politicians convicted of crimes American people convicted of obstruction of justice 20th-century New Jersey state court judges 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers 21st-century mayors of places in New Jersey 20th-century New Jersey politicians