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Jersey City City Clerk Robert Byrne and other clerk's office workers will sit down one-on-one with potential candidates in November's mayora and council races. (Reena Rose Sibayan | The Jersey Journal)

(Jersey Journal file photo)

Jersey City's mayoral and City Council races are still about six months away, but prospective candidates can start getting a lesson on how to run starting today.

City Clerk Robert Byrne will host one-on-one meetings between himself or other clerk's office employees and anyone who wants to run for mayor or council. You'll learn all about the petition process you'll need to get through to win a spot on the Nov. 7 ballot.

The challenge is greater than some realize, and it's not uncommon for a would-be candidate or two to be disqualified from the ballot because of faulty petitions.

"Running for office in Jersey City is different than anywhere else," Byrne said.

Though the nonpartisan municipal elections have moved from May to November this year, the process for getting on the ballot remains the same. Candidates need signatures from as many as 1,357 registered voters, depending on the race they want to win.

If you're running citywide, for mayor or an at-large council seat, you need at least 1,357 signatures. If you're running for a ward council seat, the hurdle is lower: in Ward A, 247 signatures are needed; Ward B, 206; Ward C, 194; Ward D, 194; Ward E, 263; and Ward F, 254. The figures represent 1 percent of the total number of registered voters in Jersey City as of last November's general election.

The positions are paid -- council members earn about $34,000, and the mayor's salary is about $105,000. The council positions are technically part-time but ward council members in particular say constituents expect them to be available at almost every hour of the day.

Petitions are due Tuesday, Sept. 5. Byrne suggests candidates get double the amount of signatures they need so they don't lose a ballot position if some of their petitions are ruled invalid.

To schedule an appointment, call the clerk's office at 201-547-5150/5149.

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