While the country waits with bated breath for next month’s election, Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop is keeping his eyes set on November 2025.
The gubernatorial candidate held a meet and greet with nearly 50 people at the home of Bloomfield Mayor Ted Gamble on Tuesday night, one of three such events this week. The former marine said he’s campaigning in what he calls the “untested lane” — in a New Jersey without the party line, Fulop said he’s not pursuing “organizational support” and is instead relying on a network of volunteers and mayoral endorsements to get his word out.
“Nobody’s seen a campaign through the end that wasn’t relying on the typical political organizations and machines in New Jersey,” Fulop said. “It started with Andy [Kim], and then obviously the opposition folded. We’re going to see this thing through the entire campaign and in some uncharted territory.”
Fulop — a mayor still working to introduce himself to the state — traced his life story from his time as an associate at Goldman Sachs (“I was one step above the barista”) to his decision to join the Marines after watching the 9/11 attacks unfold first hand, to his decision to enter the realm of politics.
The discussion with voters, of course, turned to policy. Fulop, who’s served as mayor since 2013, pointed to policies he’s released on housing, transportation, and more, and took pride in the details of his policy proposals.
“Most campaigns are the same in the sense that they’re very broad in general on policy. … Our transportation plan is 18 pages of things that I know I can accomplish if you put me there, things I did in Jersey City,” he said.
As a mayor, Fulop believes he’s specially situated to assume another executive role and perform well. On questions about the climate, energy, political scandals, and transit, he tells voters to check his track record in Jersey City.
“Mayors have a direct relationship with the constituents, and I feel like it’s the best skillset that’s transferable for governor, especially being the mayor of a city like Jersey City, which is the most diverse city, a complicated city,” Fulop told the New Jersey Globe. “We deal with unions, we deal with insurance issues, we deal with accountability on budgets, things that legislators don’t deal with on a day-to-day basis.”
He also highlighted his history of winning elections without institutional support. The mayor said he overcame the most severe of institutional obstacles when he was first elected mayor in 2013 — Fulop challenged incumbent Mayor Jerramiah Healy, who had garnered the endorsement of one Barack Obama.
“Here I am, 12 years later, as the first three-term elected mayor in 70-plus years,” he told attendees. “And I share that with you because [I’ve] always been a little bit outside that organization and that comfort lane that people generally gravitate to, but we’ve been successful, and it’s allowed us a lot of flexibility to do some really great things.”