The Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, representing more than 6,000 members in New Jersey, has announced its endorsement of Steven Fulop for the Democratic nomination for governor.
“As Mayor, Fulop put his political capital and identity all in to fight for our members when their jobs and wages were on the line. He worked with us to make sure that Jersey City had the strongest local labor protections in the state,” said Rich Maroko, the union president. “More than that, he created a pro-labor environment that saw our union grow from just one unionized hotel in Jersey City prior to his administration, now to one of the most densely unionized hotel markets in the country.”
The union was allied with Fulop in support of a hotly-contested 2019 referendum in Jersey City to regulate short-term rentals. Airbnb and others spent heavily to defeat the referendum, but voters approved it by a massive 69%-31% margin.
“With a track record like that, there is no one better prepared to build upon the successes of the Murphy Administration and tackle the issues facing our state’s working families today than Steven Fulop,” Maroko said. “I am eager to see Mayor Fulop take his policy agenda to Trenton.”
Fulop, the three-term mayor of Jersey City, hailed the endorsement as “a big day for our campaign.”
“HTC is with few peers in the labor world with regards to impact,” stated Fulop. “They are extremely organized and effective whenever they engage in a campaign. Over the years, we have stood shoulder to shoulder with HTC and won some tough fights together – fights that few thought we could win when they began. I’m excited to continue this partnership with Rich and the HTC team.”
Click HERE to read Maroko’s Op-Ed in support of Fulop.
See here for a full list of endorsements in New Jersey’s 2025 gubernatorial contest.