Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and has council slate have combined for just over $1.8 million cash on hand, with Ward C council candidate Tom Zuppa topping all challengers with over $47,000 COH, according to campaign finance reports filed last week.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Fulop’s mayoral campaign account has changed little since the first quarter of the year, going down to $993,029.77 from $993,591.38, based on a report filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJ ELEC) on July 15th.
Clearly, their focus has been fundraising for the council candidates, raking in $177,307.67 in the second quarter of 2021, with $807,634.14 cash on hand, their July 16th ELEC filing shows.
32BJ SEIU donated $2,000 on June 30th, with the Amalgamated Transit Union giving $1,000 on April 15th, and Assemblywoman Angela McKnight (D-31) chipped in $1,250 from her campaign account on May 5th – the same amount Ward C Councilman Rich Boggiano wrote a check for on May 13th, as did Assemblyman Raj Mukherji (D-33) and Council President Joyce Watterman on May 24th.
Additionally, Jeff Dublin, a former freeholder and the Democratic nominee for county registrar, gave $500 from his campaign account on the same day as Mukherji.
Other notable contributions included $2,000 from the Engineers Political Education Committee on April 15th, $500 from Hudson County Clerk E. Junior Maldonado on May 28th ($5,000 total this quarter), $1,250 from the Greater NJ Carpenters PEC on May 28th, $1,000 from Heavy & General Construction Laborers Union Local on May 13th, and $16,600 from Local Union No. 164 IBEW PAC on May 10th.
Furthermore, Business Administrator John Metro donated an aggregate amount of $2,625 in Q2, with the New Jersey State Laborers PAC contributing $5,000 on June 7th, and the Port Authority Police Benevolent Association giving $1,500 on May 13th.
As for Zuppa, while he only raised $6,680 in Q2, he also only spent $2,774.65, allowing him to close with $47,237.21 after a big first quarter, his July 15th ELEC filing says.
Ward B council candidate Joel Brooks wasn’t far behind with $36,567.03 cash on hand, with $17,158.18 raised in Q2, according to his July 12th ELEC report.
The only other two available filings were from Ward C council hopeful Kevin Bing, who has $20,352.03 cash on hand, bolstered by a $10,000 loan, with Ward D challenger Danielle Freire reporting $16,847.87 available to spend.
Declared mayoral challenger Lewis Spears, Council-at-Large candidates Elvin Dominici, Chris Gadsden, and June Jones, as well as Ward A candidate Pedro Figueroa – along with Ward F candidates Frank Gilmore and Vernon Richardson – did not file reports, according to ELEC’s online database.
Meanwhile, Ward E Councilman James Solomon raised about $81,000 in Q2, with around $126,000 cash on hand, as HCV first reported last week.
