In a ceremony scheduled to take place on Saturday, July 23, in New Hope, Pa., Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop planned to marry Jaclyn Thompson, a local business owner. In some ways, theirs will be a storybook marriage, symbolic of the new, young and up-and-coming nature of Jersey City.
Fulop, 38, proposed earlier this year, and the two recently took up residence in their newly renovated home on Ogden Avenue in Jersey City Heights, the section up the hill from Hoboken.
“He’s honest, he’s loyal, he’s handsome, and he’s my best friend,” Thompson said of Fulop.
It will be the first time in recent history that a mayor of Jersey City has gotten married while in office.
Some may sense a fairytale feel about the ceremony as it happens in the upscale bohemian enclave beside the Delaware River.
Thompson, 34, a physical therapist, is a founder and director of rehabilitative services at Exchange Place Therapy Group. Raised in Rhode Island, she graduated from Florida State University in 2005 with a bachelor of science degree in nutrition, food, and exercise science. She received her master’s degree in physical therapy in 2008, graduating cum laude from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University.
She originally took up work that involved 13-week stints in a number of towns – which is how she came to Jersey City. She was supposed to stay for a brief time, but she liked the transforming town so much that she decided in 2010 to live and work here.
“He’s honest, he’s loyal, he’s handsome, and he’s my best friend.” – Jaclyn Thompson
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The downtown area near the waterfront is among many bustling areas of Jersey City that are attracting young professionals.
Sent her a note
In early 2013, one of Thompson’s customers, Councilman Daniel Rivera, asked her and her partner to host a meet-and-greet for then-mayoral candidate Steven Fulop at Exchange Place Therapy Group.
“Danny Rivera is a patient of mine. So when he asked if we could hold a meet-and-greet for the mayor, I talked to my partner,” she explained. She hadn’t met Fulop before that.
“I didn’t even get to talk to him much at the event,” she recalled. “To be honest, I didn’t know much about Steve. I’m not political, although I’m a registered voter.”
Fulop came from humble beginnings. He grew up in Edison, the second of three sons born to Israeli and Hungarian immigrants. His parents owned a deli in Newark where Fulop sometimes worked as a teen. His grandparents were Holocaust survivors.
He attended Binghamton University and received a MBA from New York University and a master’s in public administration from Columbia University. He got a job with Goldman Sachs in New York City and moved to Jersey City.
Fulop was working in New York not far from the attack on the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001. He enlisted in the U.S. Marines and served in Iraq. Upon his return, he ran for public office and became the city’s youngest councilman.
When Thompson saw Fulop for the first time, she was surprised.
“I expected him to be older,” she said. “And he was very charismatic.”
The real surprise came a week later when Fulop returned to the therapy center.
“I happened to be out. I was at the veterinarian with my therapy dog when he came in,” she said. “He wrote me a note and asked if I wanted to go out to dinner. No one had written me a little note like that before. This was kind of nice in an age of texting.”
They went to Palma, an Italian restaurant on Cornelia Street in the West Village. They hit it off right away. Fulop was very open.
“He’s always been an amazing communicator,” she said.
They had a lot in common.
“We’re both family-oriented; we both work hard; we’re very active. We liked to run and do yoga,” she said.
The mayor is known for keeping busy morning until night, exercising in the morning and keeping a tight schedule.
Different strokes
The couple’s musical tastes differ slightly.
“I’m more into pop and top 40; he likes Pearl Jam and Cold Play,” she said. “But there are a number of songs we both like.”
She said that as they began dating, they became closer day by day, and eventually decided to get the house on Ogden Avenue.
“We’ve been settled in for about three weeks,” she said. “The neighborhood is great and the people are friendly.”
One of the interesting conversations revolves around Fulop’s plans to run for governor. If he wins next year, where will they live?
“I want to continue to live in Jersey City,” she said.
Worried about rain
Why did they choose New Hope, Pa.?
“We discovered the town and it’s a beautiful venue,” she said. “And it’s not too far away from here. We wanted to have our wedding on Saturday so all our friends could attend.”
The ceremony will be held outdoors, but the reception will be inside. She said she is watching the weather because of a 40 percent chance of rain.
For their honeymoon, they will head to Greece.
“I’ve always wanted to go there,” she said.
Well-wishers comment on the wedding
Former Gov. Jim McGreevey, a close friend of Fulop’s, called the marriage “a blessed event.”
Councilman Daniel Rivera, who brought the happy couple together, said, “It was a pleasure introducing them and it’s truly been a pleasure watching them grow as a solid and in love couple. I’m extremely honored to be the one officiating their wedding. Both are very good friends of mine and I wish the nothing but the best in their quest of marital unity.”
Council Member Candice Osborne, who was elected to Fulop’s council seat in Ward E after he became mayor, said, “I am so happy for both Steven and Jaclyn. You know it’s a perfect match when you consider each of them lucky to have found the other.”
Freeholder Bill O’Dea, another close Fulop associate, quipped, “I’m just glad I made the guest list.”
Al Sullivan may be reached at asullivan@hudsonreporter.com.