Ali unveils public safety plan for Jersey City, Minnesota AG endorses him for mayor

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Jersey City mayoral hopeful Mussab Ali unveiled his public safety plan for the city today via a Zoom call, where he also received the endorsement of Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison.

Photo courtesy of the Mussab Ali for Jersey City mayor campaign.

By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View

“One of the big things that jumped out of us, Black people in Jersey City were 14.4 times more likely and Latinx people were 2.4 times more likely to be arrested for low-level, non-violent offenses than a white person. Obviously that disparity is enormous, and it’s one of the worst in the State of New Jersey,” Ali said.

The former Jersey City board of education president said he wanted more foot patrols and community meetings to help build trust between the public and the police.

Ali also commended Mayor Steve Fulop for increasing the diversity of the police department and said he would continue in that direction, particularly when it comes to recruiting Asian American officers.

He said that while approximately 28 percent of Jersey City is Asian American, only about seven or eight percent of the JCPD is.

Ali also wanted to renew the effort to create Civilian Complaint Review Boards (CCRBs) with subpoena powers, which has currently stalled out in the state legislature.

“That’s something we want to double down on,” he said.

Ali also wanted to initiate task force investigations by the mayor’s office for officer-involved shootings, de-escalation training, as well as purely for the sake of transparency.

“You can’t really get real-time crime statistics. One of the big things we want to do is a complete redesign of the Jersey City Police Department’s website,” he explained.

Ali wanted to make it easier to request body camera footage, police reports, and other public records.

He noted the ARRIVE Together program is unfolding in Jersey City which he commended, though he’d like to see the availability expand to seven days a week.

“Many times, people calling 911 are getting no answer or a delayed response. We want to reform that completely,” he declared, noting that he’d like to increase the budget of the 911 dispatch office and reinvest in Jersey City Youth Court.

“Young people should not be the people with firearms and engaging in these opportunities. Instead, they should have internships and other youth programs,” Ali explained.

In addition to keeping youth engaged with health activities and programs, the candidate also doubled down on fighting for immigrants (Jersey City is currently a sanctuary city).

“As we look at the federal administration and their current emphasis on immigration enforcement, we want to make sure we’re staunch supporters of our immigrant communities and oppose the use of city resources in the aid of federal immigration enforcement,” he asserted.

Ellison, who was the attorney general of Minnesota when George Floyd was killed by Police Officer Derek Chauvin and had murder charges filed against him, emphatically backed Ali’s candidacy.

“I’m proud to endorse Mussab Ali in his campaign for mayor of Jersey City. On issues critical to the future of the city, like housing affordability, healthcare, and racial and economic justice, Mussab is the kind of progressive, bold, and inclusive leader that we need to elevate,” he said in a statement.

“I support Mussab’s 21st-century public safety plan. I know he has the resources and organization to put together a winning campaign.”

On the Zoom call, he praised Ali’s plan to increase trust between police and the public.

“I share your view that everyone deserves to be safe in their communities in their neighborhood … We need to have a durable, lasting relationship with law enforcement … That is why this plan from our future mayor is so important,” Ellison continued.

“He understands that building community meetings doing patrols, helping people in a mental health crisis, these are all great ideas.”

During a question and answer session with reporters, Ali said municipal crime statistics provided to the FBI need to be more available to the public.

“In my eyes, there is no downside in sharing this with the public. They need this transparency, and you can have this transparency,” he declared, also stating he opposed AI surveillance, noting that there are thousands of CCTVS in the city already.

Ali said he opposed increasing surveillance by AI, noting there are many CCTVs in JC.

Additionally, he said that his time as the BOE president gave him experience negotiating with unions, as well as that Jersey City could find a lack more revenue if they simply enforced fines on the books, such as for parking and traffic enforcement.

“As the mayor, you get a pretty strong bully pulpit. One of the things I would push the governor is to allow a CCRB with subpoena powers,” he emphasized when asked to elaborate on that topic by HCV.

This outlet also asked him if he thought the Jersey City Police Department could do better beyond their annual major discipline report required by the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office, such as potentially released internal affairs documents.

“ … Once IA reports are completed, I don’t see a harm in actually releasing them. I fundamentally believe … people in Jersey City will not trust police officers if they think they are held to a very different standard than other people.

Ali concluded by stating that Division of the Quality of Life, lead by Chief Municipal Prosecutor Jake Hudnut, could be doing a better job and he would appoint a new director if elected.

 

Chief News Correspondent John Heinis contributed to this report.


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