JERSEY CITY – Mayor Steven Fulop formally announced his intention on Wednesday to run for re-election as mayor of Jersey City in 2017, and endorsed fellow Democrat Phil Murphy for governor of New Jersey.
“I am excited to announce my intentions to seek another four years as mayor and continue to serve the people of Jersey City,” the mayor announced. “Plain and simple, my heart is in Jersey City, and I realize there is still much I hope to accomplish in moving our great city forward.” Mayor Fulop said.
“We continue to build great parks, hire police officers, create jobs and keep taxes flat and our hope is to continue that progress. There are few cities in the nation that can point to both socially progressive accomplishments and the economic achievements we have seen in Jersey City since my administration took office.”
Murphy is expected to face several other candidates for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2017, chief among them Senate President Stephen Sweeney, who has the backing of south Jersey power broker George Norcross. The endorsement of Murphy for governor, the mayor said, unites most North Jersey constituencies behind one candidate.
“I am proud to endorse Phil Murphy for governor and I believe he will be an outstanding leader and partner in the state house, advocating for the needs of the residents of Jersey City,” Fulop said. “With Phil and I coming together, we can bring all of New Jersey together, guaranteeing that the Democratic base seeking a change in Trenton will not be divided.”
Fulop was first elected in 2013. Under his leadership, Jersey City has seen the largest economic boom in its history, with more than 10,000 residential units under construction and another 16,000 approved, including major development of the waterfront and in areas like Journal Square and Bergen-Lafayette for the first time in decades.
More than 450 new small businesses have opened in the city and more than 6,000 new jobs have been created.
While growing the city, the Fulop administration has also invested more than $6 million in affordable housing, with more than 1,200 units created or preserved across all wards of the city, including dozens of units for homeless veterans.
Jersey City was also the first city in the state and the sixth in the nation to enact Earned Sick Leave, has been a leader in gun reform, and has developed a national prisoner re-entry model. All of these achievements have come without raising taxes three years in a row.
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