With Lt. Governor pick, Fulop further emphasizes policy focus

Steve Fulop’s gubernatorial campaign just got wonkier. 

The Jersey City mayor introduced South Orange Mayor Sheena Collum, his pick for lieutenant governor, during a Wednesday event in the latter’s home city. Fulop said Collum was the strongest candidate to join his policy-oriented campaign, a sentiment she also shared.

“He’s a fellow nerd,” she said. “He’s a fellow policy wonk.”

The early announcement is unusual—he is the first candidate to announce a running mate before the primary since the office of lieutenant governor was established in 2009.

In a nearly hour-long introductory event, Collum said she hopes to consolidate municipalities and school districts, modernize NJ Transit, and build new housing throughout the state. She said her rhetoric is backed up by her work as mayor. She touted a South Orange-Maplewood fire department consolidation she fought for and hosted Wednesday’s event in a recently completed housing project.

“When we look at housing and housing reform, that is my jam,” Collum said. “I absolutely love housing development. I was probably one of the first mayors to say I want more housing than what is obligated from me.”

The ticket joins Fulop, a big-city mayor, with Collum, the mayor of a town of about 18,000.

Fulop said New Jersey hasn’t had a governor with municipal government experience in more than two decades—he said a hypothetical Fulop administration would have the municipal experience needed to understand how state policies will affect the state at the most local levels.

That focus is reflected in the job he would assign Collum. New Jersey’s lieutenant governor must also serve as a department head in the governor’s cabinet—Fulop said Collum would lead the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, which interacts with and supports municipalities throughout the state.

“I want to be boots on the ground with municipalities,” said Collum, who was first elected mayor in 2015.

Collum said she would resist President Donald Trump by any means possible, especially if Social Security or Medicare are at risk.

“They work their entire lives, and now they get Social Security and Medicare,” she said. “If anybody comes for my mom and dad, I’ll come for you,” she said. “Republicans and independents: if anybody’s coming for your mom and dad, I’m with you in the fight.”

South Orange is, notably, within Rep. Mikie Sherrill’s (D-Montclair) congressional district. Sherrill is one of Fulop’s gubernatorial competitors, and Collum said she respects the congresswoman but thinks Sherrill (and Rep. Josh Gottheimer, for that matter) are more effective in the halls of the Capitol.

“With this type of close allocation of Republicans and Democrats, she’s shown herself to be very effective,” Collum said. “She is our first line of defense against President Trump. She talks about being a Navy helicopter pilot—she can finish this mission for us.”

Collum said she also respects Newark Mayor Ras Baraka, a gubernatorial competitor. She said that if the state instituted ranked-choice voting (a policy both she and Fulop support), Baraka would be her second choice.

Fulop said Collum fulfilled many of the traits he expected in a running mate, including deep policy knowledge, strong leadership ability, and someone who isn’t willing to go “against the grain.”

“If you think about the LG position since 2009 in New Jersey, it’s been very formulaic,” Fulop said. “It’s been a bunch of people getting in the back room, selecting who the lieutenant governor is based on the political moment. And we wanted to do something different.”

And as for the role Fulop sees for her in his campaign?

“The one thing I said to her was, ‘I want you to be you.’”