Once again The Chicken was back at Jersey City’s city hall to frustrate the third candidate in the race for the Democratic nomination from the 31st Senate District. During what turned out to be a marathon city council meeting, Smith was visibly uncomfortable by the presence of The Chicken in council chambers. Once the meeting was over, Smith initially avoided direct contact with The Chicken. When confronted, Smith said he had nothing more to say after seeing what The Chicken did on Tuesday to Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham.

Smith claimed he refused to debate only after Cunningham declined News Channel 12’s invitation. Smith eventually agreed to participate in a debate and later posed for photos with The Chicken. (photos to follow)

“I’m happy that Mr. Smith has finally come around and is willing to let the voters decide who the next state senator should be,” Vincent Militello said. “It’s disturbing that it took a chicken at the city council meeting challenging Mr. Smith to get him to change his mind and allow the voters to see all three candidates together.”

News Channel 12 invited all three candidates in the 31st District State Senate race to debate on its network. Without explanation, Cunningham and Smith refused to participate. The Smith and Cunningham campaigns claim that they cancelled only after the other. The Militello campaign accepted the invitation without restrictions. With the recent agreement between the Militello, Cunningham and Smith camps, the only thing left is to see if News Channel 12 will allow the debate to air.

“My campaign is securing a location in Bayonne to host the debate, and I will be contacting News Channel 12 first thing on Thursday morning to see if they will cover it,” Militello said. “My opponents have been wasting their time sniping at each other and bringing lawsuits. I’m glad that at least for the last five days of this campaign we can make this race about the issues and not the personal problems between Mr. Smith and Mr. Cunningham.”

“We should be focusing on the issues. It’s time that both the mayor and the council president answer to the people,” Militello continued. “This campaign is about leadership and getting things done. I hope the leadership that I showed in bringing together these two bitter rivals proves to the people of Jersey City and Bayonne that I am a man who can get things done in Trenton. I look forward to a spirited debate.”