Councilwoman DeGise Pleads GUILTY to Hit & Run - Must Resign NOW

The Issue

UPDATE, 1/25/23:

7 months after being caught on video hitting a bicyclist and leaving the scene, Jersey City Councilmember Amy DeGise pled guilty to leaving the scene of an accident - she'll pay a $5,000 fine and lose her license for a year.

And in a statement to the court she says she still will not resign!

This is unconscionable. Councilmember DeGise at no point has denied being the person to hit the cyclist on video. She pled guilty today. She is telling us that she did this - and thinks it is okay to continue serving as a lawmaker in our community.

Amy DeGise has every right to pursue peace for herself and a productive life - as a private citizen, not making the laws that shape the futures and safety of quarter a million residents in Jersey City. 

Numerous elected officials, including NJ Gov. Phil Murphy, JC Mayor Steve Fulop, and her colleagues on the council told petition signatories to wait until the legal process has played out and now it has.

Amy DeGise should have resigned 7 months ago.

And she should resign today.

Jersey City Council meets tomorrow Wed. Jan 25 at 6pm in City Hall. If you are a local resident, please sign up to speak in person and demand her resignation.


Continue to share this petition and your outrage online.


***

Amy DeGise, at-large Councilmember,  hit a cyclist at speed and then left the scene. Video footage shows us she made no effort to avoid the cyclist, to slow down after impact, or to stop to check on him and file a police report. The cyclist running the red light does not change anything about DeGise's responsibility to the victim and to the law. 

Councilmember DeGise should have resigned as soon as this news came out. She must resign now and the Mayor and councilmembers must call publically for her resignation.

AsAn at-large member of the council, Councilmember DeGise has the hefty task of representing the full city and the best interests of all its residents. By striking and abandoning one of those residents, in a time of crisis, she has shown she cannot be trusted to put the well-being of residents first. To hit a constituent and leave them speaks to a deeply troubling level of self-preservation instinct, and one that has no place in public service. 

Staying at the scene is an act of responsibility, and humanity towards the victim - not to mention, a driver's legal obligation. It

I am disgusted that other Councilmembers and the Mayor - who ran DeGise on his slate in this most recent election - have not encouraged her resignation. While the justice system moves slowly forward on this crash, DeGise's actions will be a distraction from urgent matters facing our city. It will take months for this case to move forward, months that the Council will continue to meet and vote. It is inappropriate to have Councilmember DeGise participating in those votes when it is clear she puts her own interests above those of residents.

Councilmember DeGise should have already chosen to step down as the only honorable action. But she has already shown us that she cherishes her own ambitions above the well-being of residents. Now, her colleagues must urge her resignation publically so the Council can return to the business of the people. Silence is complicit, and will not be forgotten in campaign season.

 

*Note - after you sign, change.org suggests you donate- any $$ sent this way pay to boost the petitions visibility to their algorithm and does NOT support any grassroots organizing. Skip the donation! I'm trying to shut that feature off*

avatar of the starter
Megan CarolanPetition StarterI'm a researcher focused on early childhood policies, especially education and health. I live in Jersey City with my husband and our kids, and care what happens in our community for children and families.

7,607

The Issue

UPDATE, 1/25/23:

7 months after being caught on video hitting a bicyclist and leaving the scene, Jersey City Councilmember Amy DeGise pled guilty to leaving the scene of an accident - she'll pay a $5,000 fine and lose her license for a year.

And in a statement to the court she says she still will not resign!

This is unconscionable. Councilmember DeGise at no point has denied being the person to hit the cyclist on video. She pled guilty today. She is telling us that she did this - and thinks it is okay to continue serving as a lawmaker in our community.

Amy DeGise has every right to pursue peace for herself and a productive life - as a private citizen, not making the laws that shape the futures and safety of quarter a million residents in Jersey City. 

Numerous elected officials, including NJ Gov. Phil Murphy, JC Mayor Steve Fulop, and her colleagues on the council told petition signatories to wait until the legal process has played out and now it has.

Amy DeGise should have resigned 7 months ago.

And she should resign today.

Jersey City Council meets tomorrow Wed. Jan 25 at 6pm in City Hall. If you are a local resident, please sign up to speak in person and demand her resignation.


Continue to share this petition and your outrage online.


***

Amy DeGise, at-large Councilmember,  hit a cyclist at speed and then left the scene. Video footage shows us she made no effort to avoid the cyclist, to slow down after impact, or to stop to check on him and file a police report. The cyclist running the red light does not change anything about DeGise's responsibility to the victim and to the law. 

Councilmember DeGise should have resigned as soon as this news came out. She must resign now and the Mayor and councilmembers must call publically for her resignation.

AsAn at-large member of the council, Councilmember DeGise has the hefty task of representing the full city and the best interests of all its residents. By striking and abandoning one of those residents, in a time of crisis, she has shown she cannot be trusted to put the well-being of residents first. To hit a constituent and leave them speaks to a deeply troubling level of self-preservation instinct, and one that has no place in public service. 

Staying at the scene is an act of responsibility, and humanity towards the victim - not to mention, a driver's legal obligation. It

I am disgusted that other Councilmembers and the Mayor - who ran DeGise on his slate in this most recent election - have not encouraged her resignation. While the justice system moves slowly forward on this crash, DeGise's actions will be a distraction from urgent matters facing our city. It will take months for this case to move forward, months that the Council will continue to meet and vote. It is inappropriate to have Councilmember DeGise participating in those votes when it is clear she puts her own interests above those of residents.

Councilmember DeGise should have already chosen to step down as the only honorable action. But she has already shown us that she cherishes her own ambitions above the well-being of residents. Now, her colleagues must urge her resignation publically so the Council can return to the business of the people. Silence is complicit, and will not be forgotten in campaign season.

 

*Note - after you sign, change.org suggests you donate- any $$ sent this way pay to boost the petitions visibility to their algorithm and does NOT support any grassroots organizing. Skip the donation! I'm trying to shut that feature off*

avatar of the starter
Megan CarolanPetition StarterI'm a researcher focused on early childhood policies, especially education and health. I live in Jersey City with my husband and our kids, and care what happens in our community for children and families.
Support now

7,607


The Decision Makers

Steve Fulop
Steve Fulop
Mayor of Jersey City
Joyce Watterman
Joyce Watterman
Council President
Daniel Rivera
Daniel Rivera
Council Member
Amy Degise
Amy Degise
Council Member
Denise Ridley
Denise Ridley
Councilmember
Petition updates