In an editorial, Jersey City council-at-large candidate Dr. Floyd Jeter speaks about growing up in the city and what led him to decide to run for office.
I was born on Monmouth Street in Jersey City, and I’ve walked every cracked sidewalk, passed every corner store, and felt the heartbeat of our neighborhoods.
Growing up here taught me early that community is built block by block with people showing up for one another. My first real job was with Pepsi. I didn’t feel worthy. I didn’t have the fancy credentials or lineage. I came from the streets.
Yet that opportunity, loading trucks, managing logistics, navigating a system far bigger than my world at the time, gave me more than a paycheck. It taught me discipline, accountability, how markets function, how people interact, and how systems work.
It set me on a course I could never have imagined. As I earned experience there, I internalized a lesson: doors that feel closed are sometimes waiting for you to find the key. And slowly, I did.
From those early days, I moved into roles that kept me grounded in Jersey City’s real life: as a teacher’s assistant, I worked one-on-one with children on the autism spectrum, witnessing firsthand how systems either lift or fail individuals.
In warehouse work, I learned the weight and dignity of hard labor. Later, stepping into academia as an adjunct sociology professor at NJCU and into public service as Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, I’ve carried every story, every struggle, every lesson with me.
Working with at-risk youth and being part of a mentorship program has been one of the most fulfilling experiences I could have had. I’ve walked our streets, heard people’s fears, and tried to pivot before crises unfold.
Each chapter, each challenge, each relationship has been part of my foundation.
I run for Council At-Large because the challenges and opportunities in Jersey City don’t stop at ward boundaries.
When infrastructure is strong in some neighborhoods and weak in others, when parks flourish in one ward and are absent in another, when investment flows unevenly, we permit division to take root. The job of at-large is to bridge that divide.
The Heights, Greenville, Bergen-Lafayette, Journal Square, and McGinley Square are not separate worlds. They’re connected lives. What happens in one ward resonates in us all. And I bring a citywide vision rooted in lived experience.
I promise to fight for homes that belong to the people, not just to investors.
I promise to use city powers proactively, to secure properties before they’re drained into speculation, to support community land trusts, to strengthen tenant protections, and to ensure zoning truly delivers affordability, not empty promises.
I promise to listen and help create a system that helps repair streets, reinforce infrastructure, upgrade utilities, and elevate safety – not as distant goals, but as basic rights.
I will stand with small business owners to dismantle red tape, provide access to capital, demand that big developments hire locally, and help revitalize commercial corridors across all wards.
I aim to plant shade and trees where there is none, to convert vacant lots into parks or gardens, to extend greenways across neighborhoods, and to weave climate resilience into the fabric of every frontline block.
And I promise a government that shows up. Expect “Council in Your Ward” sessions in every corner, ward-level transparency on city investments, and outreach that meets people where they are, not just online, but in person, in languages they speak, on streets they walk.
We are at a turning point. If we continue to neglect, disparity and displacement will continue to widen. If we act with courage, empathy, strategy, and urgency, we can turn this moment into a renaissance of belonging and shared prosperity.
Because I come from this city, because my roots are here, I don’t see neighborhoods as maps; I see lives, struggles, ambitions, and promise. I run to honor that truth.
On November 4, I humbly ask for your vote, your voice, and your trust for me, Dr. Floyd Jeter, as your At-Large representative.
Together, we will build a Jersey City where no ward is left behind, where every block thrives, and where every person knows they belong. Walk with me. Vote with me. Let’s rise ward by ward, heart by heart. Jersey City, Together Forward.
