Dear Editor:
I am expressing my six reasons for why I will not be voting for Councilman Fulop.
1) Although publicly opposed to the high pressure gas line that Spectra Energy will run through Jersey City, Steven Fulop accepted $25,000 in campaign contributions from law firm DeCotiis and Fitzgerald, the lobbyists for Spectra Energy in March 2011. Only after the public and press shed light on this, did Fulop return the money in June 2012, over one year later. It was public pressure, not his conscience that made him return the money.
2) Mr. Fulop proposed to change the Affordable Housing Trust Fund rules by proposing affordable housing only placed in the ward where the developer was building. With most of downtown already developed, and most of the planning now focused on other wards, this change will work to keep the low income residents where he feels they belong, away from downtown.
3) For the past two years, the Fulop backed school board mistakenly passed school tax increases in the amount of 2 percent per year. Fulop complains of high property taxes, but never supported residents when they tried to have the mistakes of the Fulop backed school board corrected.
4) Mr. Fulop arranged for a secret meeting with the Commissioner of Education, school board members and a select group of parents from downtown to discuss the hiring of the public school superintendent excluding families from across the city to participate in the process. This meeting violated the spirit of the Open Meetings Act by having sitting school board members, board members elect, Commissioner Cerf and a few handpicked parents.
5) When residents repeatedly complained about the taxi stand in Journal Square and the long lines, a quality of life issue which effects non downtown residents, Fulop never took the time to help residents resolve this problem. Seniors, women with children, working people still wait on lines for long periods of time for an available cab at night. Winter is coming.
6) In a recent interview, Fulop said that his parents were immigrants and owned a “bodega”. From what I’ve read, his parents immigrated from Eastern Europe and owned a delicatessen. This pandering for the Latino vote by pretending to be someone he’s not is wrong in its face and gives me more reason to question his truthfulness about everything.
Honestly, he might have done some things that may seem like they’re in the best interest of the residents, but in the end, he has not achieved anything in his eight years on the council. I don’t think he is the person he would like the public to believe he is!
Monique K. Andrews
Parent and Life Long JC Resident