Steven Fulop

On March 16, 2020, Fulop issued an order requiring that the Jersey City Newport Centre and Hudson Mall shopping centers be closed for an undisclosed period due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The next day, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, backed this temporary closure and ordered all malls in New Jersey to temporarily close as well.

Fulop exposed Governor Chris Christie’s muscling Jersey’s leaders to support his political campaign, subsequently retaliating against his opposition with what became known as the Bridgegate Scandal. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor_of_Jersey_City

In May 2018, Fulop opposed subsidies for a troubled real estate project run by the Kushner family. The family had requested a 30-year tax break and approximately $9 million in city-issued bonds from Jersey City.

In May 2018, Fulop publicly attacked the Speaker of the Polish Senate, Stanisław Karczewski, who criticized Fulop's plans to remove the Katyń Massacre Memorial monument located at Exchange Place in Jersey City, New Jersey, writing on Twitter:

The plans to remove the monument had been criticized by Polish officials and Jewish community leaders in Poland. Polish media has claimed that the removal plans were revenge for the Act on the Institute of National Remembrance#2018 amendment that criminalized blaming Poland for Holocaust atrocities. Fulop subsequently reached an agreement with Poland’s consul general to move the statue to a location some 200 feet away. The issue was resolved on December 20, 2018, when the nine-member Jersey City Council voted unanimously to adopt an ordinance that the monument remain where it stands in Exchange Place “in perpetuity.”

In 2017, Mayor Fulop was re-elected with over 77 percent of the vote, the largest plurality since 1947.

In February 2016, Fulop signed an executive order making Jersey City the first city in New Jersey to provide a $15 minimum wage for all city employees.

In September 2015, Jersey City launched Citi Bike, a bike-sharing program that has seen 7,500 total rides in just the last six months. Citi Bike was specifically chosen for Jersey City because it is already used in New York City, so the systems are connected.

Jersey City recently launched United Rescue, an emergency medical first-responder program that leverages citizen volunteers and GPS mobile app-based technology to reduce emergency response times for ambulatory calls, and is expected to make Jersey City EMS response time the fastest in the country. In October 2015 Jersey City officially legalized Airbnb, even while cities like New York resist the homesharing service. Fulop has also been a proponent of using data to make government more transparent and accountable, launching a data portal in October 2015 making available a wide range of information about Jersey City and utilizing data mapping and visualization tools to make the information meaningful.

Fulop initiated plans to invest nearly $6 million in city parks in 2014 alone, which will triple the annual number of parks projects by renovating 13 parks throughout Jersey City and will provide funding for the accelerated construction of Berry Lane Park, an ambitious project that will ultimately transform more than 17 acres of property in to a recreational amenity in the heart of the Bergen-Lafayette community.

In an effort to revitalize the Journal Square business district of Jersey City, in February 2014 Fulop released a request for proposals for the restoration, renovation, and professional management of the historic Loew's Jersey Theatre.

The Fulop administration's first municipal budget, presented and introduced in March 2014, reduced property taxes by 2.1 percent and provided the City Council flexibility to reduce taxes even further – up to 5.6 percent. This budget not only reflects the largest total investment in the Department of Recreation for Jersey City within the last five years and the largest percent increase in funding since 1999, but allocates the largest investment in parks in decades. He launched a Jersey City Mural Arts Program, which has facilitated the painting of dozens of murals throughout Jersey City that reflect the diverse communities found within the city. Fulop launched a new prisoner re-entry program within the expanded Jersey City Employment and Training Program (JCETP) under the leadership of former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey. The Jersey City Employment and Training Program has received State and Federal funding and is the strongest program of its kind in New Jersey.

Fulop assumed the office of mayor on July 1, 2013. He was widely considered likely to run for governor in 2017, but ended this speculation by announcing his intention to run for re-election as mayor. In November 2017, Mayor Fulop was re-elected as mayor of Jersey City with 78% of the vote which represented the largest margin of re-election by a Jersey City mayor since 1949.

After his election to a second Council term, Fulop was expected by some to run for mayor in 2013. In 2010 a Fulop-backed slate won all three open seats for the Board of Education. In Sep 2016 Fulop endorsed former rival Phil Murphy for governor, opting to run for his second mayoral term.

On May 14, 2013, Fulop beat sitting mayor Jerramiah T. Healy by 15 percentage points, 53%–38%, to become the 49th Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey. Fulop took office on July 1, 2013 with a vision to make Jersey City the "best mid-sized city in the country". Due to a healthy population growth rate combined with a significant increase in residential construction, Fulop has asserted that Jersey City will overtake Newark, New Jersey, to become the largest city in New Jersey, possibly as early as late 2016.

Within his first 100 days in office, Fulop introduced and passed legislation that merged the Police and Fire Departments as well as the Office of Emergency Management into one central department – the Department of Public Safety. This consolidation is projected to create significant savings for Jersey City by eliminating duplicative administrative costs. Fulop's newly created department was also charged with increasing diversity in both the police and fire department by revising its recruitment and retention efforts, emphasizing that members on the force should be representative of the city they serve. Fulop also increased the size of the police force from 778 uniformed officers upon assuming office to a projected 840 by June 2014.

In September 2013 (within three months of assuming office), Fulop signed a bill requiring paid sick leave for employees in Jersey City. This legislation makes Jersey City the first city in New Jersey and the sixth city nationally to pass this type of legislation. Fulop aggressively advocated for this policy and worked with the municipal council for its passage citing it as a basic human dignity issue that builds upon the principle that a healthy employee is a more productive employee. The legislation garnered national attention and cemented his reputation as a progressive leader and supporter of working families.

Fulop has been a strong supporter of LGBT rights, officiating at a historic midnight wedding ceremony the night it was officially legalized in New Jersey. Jersey City, which has one of the largest LGBT populations in the state, has received a perfect score of 100 from the Human Rights Campaign's Municipal Equality Index during every year of Fulop's administration, up from 83 in 2012 and better than anywhere else in New Jersey. In September 2015 Jersey City became the first city in the state to expand healthcare coverage to transgender municipal employees.

Steven is an avid endurance athlete completing several marathons as well as a full Ironman Championship in 2012 finishing in a time of 11 hours and 58 minutes.

In 2011, Jersey City was ranked by Atlantic Magazine as the 10th most artistic city in America, and NerdWallet.com ranked Jersey City the second most diverse city in the United States. Jersey City hosted both Super Bowl XLVIII teams. Fulop launched a branding campaign with the goal of making Jersey City a premier destination for work and play.

Prior to his election on the municipal council, Fulop served as president of the Downtown Coalition of Neighborhood Associations (DCNA) in Jersey City, and as president of The Historic Paulus Hook Association. He has served on the boards of the Columbia University Alumni Association and the Learning Community Charter School in Jersey City. In 2010, he led grassroots and local government efforts to oppose the construction of a gas pipeline through downtown Jersey City. Fulop is a member of Mayors Against Illegal Guns Coalition.

In May 2009, Fulop was re-elected for a second term with 63% of the vote. In 2012, the Hudson Reporter named him #4 in its list of Hudson County's 50 most influential people.

As a councilman, one of Fulop's main interests was ethics reform. In September 2007, he proposed legislation that would have restricted use of city vehicles and property, banned officials from holding multiple elected or appointed positions in government, instituted business and income transparency requirements for elected officials and barred people from lobbying an entity in which they serve. This legislation was rejected by a 6–1–1 vote. Fulop then proposed that Jersey City voters have the opportunity to institute new ethics reform measures by voting on two referendums. The first referendum would prevent elected officials or government employees from collecting more than one taxpayer-financed salary, a practice known as double dipping. By state law, one cannot stop an individual from serving multiple government positions by popular vote, but since state law allows a municipality to hold back a paycheck and benefits if voted on by referendum, it is possible to change the pay structures at the local level to ensure that there is less incentive to collect multiple paychecks and pensions. The second referendum would make it illegal for any entity that does business with the city, such as a developer or contractor, to make a political contribution to a local candidate for a one-year period. This would prohibit those with a specific interest in controlling a singular aspect of local government from bankrolling a local elected official who may have the power to influence that specific interest.

After his service in Iraq, Fulop returned to Goldman Sachs. In early 2006, he left Goldman Sachs to take a position at Sanford C. Bernstein & Co., and also completed his service to the Marine Corps Reserve with a rank of Corporal.

In May 2005, Fulop was the winner against an incumbent councilman in Jersey City's Ward E, representing the downtown area. When Fulop was sworn into office at 28 years old, he was the youngest member of the city council by more than 17 years and the third youngest in the nearly 200-year existence of the city. However, as noted by The New York Times, the most significant difference between Fulop and every elected official in Jersey City, and most in Hudson County, is that he won the election with no establishment support, beating an incumbent with the backing of Senator Robert Menendez, Mayor Jerramiah Healy of Jersey City, and the Hudson County Democratic Organization.

Fulop ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2004 against current U.S. Senator Bob Menendez, who then represented New Jersey's 13th Congressional District; Fulop lost the June 8, 2004 primary election by 74.8 percentage points, 87.4%–12.6%.

Shortly after completion of Marine Corps boot camp, on January 14, 2003 his Reserve Unit was activated and Fulop was deployed to Iraq, where he served as part of the 6th Engineer Support Battalion for six months. He traveled into Baghdad in the early weeks of the war. The battalion focused on engineering, logistics, water purification, and fuel, part of the support infrastructure that allowed swift movement through Iraq. His unit was written about in numerous periodicals during the war, which highlighted the company's movements, their contributions to the war, and the challenges that they encountered. The New Jersey Star Ledger highlighted Fulop on several occasions as a result of his choice to leave his financial services job to serve his country.

Fulop graduated from J.P. Stevens High School. He went to Harpur College at Binghamton University where he graduated in 1999. During university, he spent time abroad studying at Oxford University in England. In 2006 he completed both his Master of Business Administration at the New York University Stern School of Business and his Master of Public Administration at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.,

Steven Michael Fulop (born February 28, 1977) is the 49th and current Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey. A Democrat, he was formerly the Councilman for Jersey City's Ward E. On May 14, 2013, Fulop defeated incumbent mayor Jerramiah Healy.