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John Hallanan will likely be chosen to fill the Ward B vacancy on the City Council. Molly J. Smith | The Jersey Journal

(Jersey Journal file photo)

JERSEY CITY -- The City Council will hold a special meeting Thursday to vote on whether to appoint city attorney John Hallanan to the vacant Ward B council seat.

Hallanan is the choice of Mayor Steve Fulop, who said last week that the 35-year-old attorney, a lifelong city resident, would be a "strong fit" for the Ward B seat.

If appointed by the council on Thursday as expected, Hallanan would replace Khemraj "Chico" Ramchal, who stepped down on May 12 after pleading guilty to charges related to his March 2015 drunken-driving arrest. Ramchel is expected to be sentenced in July. Hallanan would have to relinquish his city attorney job if he replaces Ramchal.

The appointment would last until November, when voters in a special election will choose who represents Ward B for the remainder of Ramchal's term, which ends in June 2017. If city elections are moved from May to November, the term would end in December 2017.

The city received resumes from about a dozen council hopefuls, including Mira Prinz Arey, a member of the Jersey City Parks Coalition and West Side Community Alliance; Chris Gadsden, a vice principal at Lincoln High School; Dan Levin, who founded Civic JC; and that group's current president, Esther Wintner. Gadsden and Wintner both ran for the seat in the 2013 municipal race.

Ward C Councilman Rich Boggiano, who said last week that he would support Hallanan's appointment, has said since that he thinks the council has been inappropriately shut out of the process to find Ramchal's successor. State law gives the council the power to fill vacancies, though historically the mayor has chosen a replacement for the council to approve.

At last week's council meeting, Boggiano, a frequent Fulop critic, blasted the administration for seeking resumes and interviewing prospective appointees without involving council members. This elicited some pushback from his council colleagues.

"Just keep doing your fake grandstanding and pretending you know what the process is," said Council President Rolando Lavarro, a Fulop ally. "Clearly, you don't."

"Rolando, cut it out," Boggiano replied.

"Would you knock it off, Rich?" Lavarro shot back.

"That's right, Rolando," Boggiano said. "I'm not giving away the city like you."

Council members received copies of the resumes today.

Ward B includes the city's West Side, stretching from Bergen Avenue on the east over to the Hackensack River and from the Charlotte Circle on the north down to parts of the New Jersey City University campus.

The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, June 2 at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall, 280 Grove St.

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.