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Comments:
: Bravo to Earl for getting this NUT Cracked. 
: **********************
: : Ayala is at center of bond controversy 
: : Monday, February 16, 2004

: : The mayor's opponents are calling him "the $20 million man (boy)." 

: : The denigrating denizens of City Hall affixed the tag to Bill Ayala, chief of staff to Jersey City Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham, after the administration gave in to its City Council opponents in a bruising battle over the restructuring of the city's bond debts. 

: :  
: : Some City Hall sources say Ayala is to blame for the administration's turnaround in that conflict, claiming it could have been avoided if Ayala hadn't interfered when Jersey City Business Administrator Carlton McGee approached the City Council with an ordinance containing a similar debt restructuring scheme back in September. 

: : Back then, McGee hired Charlotte Knight Marshal and her Chicago-based financial firm to work out the details of the debt restructuring effort, but the administration didn't first ask City Council to approve her contract. 

: : Even so, some City Hall observers said that September ordinance still had a chance of getting by the City Council. But then Ayala objected to Knight Marshal's hiring, and even issued an e-mail to all city department directors, instructing them not to cooperate with or talk to her. 

: : Further, the administration blocked Knight Marshal's efforts to collect the $100,000 fee for her work on the debt restructuring plan. 

: : Without the support of the administration, the plan slipped into limbo. 

: : But just four months later, the mayor suddenly began forecasting visions of gloom and doom for the city, even bringing up that worst possible of scenarios for politicians - an increase in property taxes - unless the City Council went along with, what else? A debt restructuring plan. 

: : The council refused to go along with the mayor, pointing to a $28 million surplus that could be tapped to close any budget shortfall. Eventually, Cunningham submitted a budget that was balanced with $20 million drawn from the surplus. As for Knight Marshal, she eventually collected $90,000 from the city. 

: : Asked about his role in the matter, Ayala refused to back down. "My only regret," the pugnacious chief of staff said, "is I can't fire her all over again." 

: : Mayoral chiefs of staff are invariably unpopular figures in most administrations. It comes with the job: the chief of staff is usually the one designated by the mayor to keep department heads and other members of the mayor's cabinet in line. 

: : Ayala, while not being specific, said there could still be dire consequences from the final version of the budget that was forwarded to the city council for introduction. [solid box] [solid box] [solid box] 

: : Al Spivey, an aide to Cunningham who handled a number of political functions in City Hall, is gone. 

: : Spivey could not be reached for comment about his future plans, but mayoral spokesman Stan Eason said: "Mr. Spivey chose to leave to pursue opportunities in the private sector." 

: : One of Spivey's duties was turning out the crowds at City Council meetings when the administration wanted a measure passed but expected opposition from a majority of council members. 

: : It's not clear who in the administration will be taking Spivey's place, or if someone will be hired to fill the empty slot. 

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