Ward A Councilwoman Denise Ridley and Council President Joyce Watterman expressed their interest in the new revenue benefiting people in the neighborhoods adversely affected by harsh and often discriminatory out-of-date marijuana laws, including those who were formerly incarcerated.
“I would like to go into some type of re-entry or employment training program,” she said.
Council members James Solomon and Rolando Lavarro, sponsors of the ordinance, said they want the funds to be used to help local schools, ailing under heavy cuts in state aid. “We have this long-term school funding challenge, and schools are a core piece of equity,” Solomon said.
“A well-funded public school is the sort of the centerpiece of building a kind of equitable city.”
Mayor Steven Fulop has also said the money should be used for specific programs to educate the city’s children, a desire backed up by city spokeswoman Kimberly Wallace-Scalcione who reminded TAPinto that her boss “has been on the record as 100 percent supportive of dedicating tax revenues towards the Jersey City school system.”