Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, a Democratic candidate for governor, addressed questions on a variety of subjects including police misconduct, crime reporting, and migrants during a virtual Town Hall last night that centered around his statewide public safety plan.
By Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
“I’m not going to tell you I have a monopoly on good ideas. I come from an experience standpoint few candidates have had. I understand what mayors go through,” Fulop explained regarding his policy papers that also included transportation and housing.
“I’ve tried to build a campaign over the last 8 months of mayors and local government.”
Hillside Mayor Dahlia Vertreese, who has endorsed Fulop for governor, was also on the call and weighed in on a few topics.
“What they didn’t tell was there was such a thing as the chief’s bill of rights,” Vertreese noted about becoming mayor.
She explained that even if a police chief blatantly commits a crime, the bill of rights makes it challenging to address.
“We don’t want people to suffer in silence,” Vertreese declared.
Fulop noted about 130 people had called in before giving a run down in what Jersey City has done for public safety, noting investing in mass shooting training, managing the COVID-19 pandemic, and dealing with the fallout of George Floyd’s murder.
He also touted hiring more officers from diverse backgrounds, as well as implementing more training and utilizing technology, as well as decriminalizing marijuana possession, though the city is currently in court after challenging officers ability to use while off duty.
The mayor also reiterated that he supports the creation of Civilian Complaint Review Boards (CCRBs), despite police union opposition, as well as revising the chief’s bill of rights and bail reform.
“I don’t believe anybody should be in jail for not having financial resources to get out,” he said.
Fulop wanted more judges appointed to move the court process faster, in hopes of petty crimes being addressed quickly.
In addition, he called for increasing the Cost of Living Benefits (COLA) for police officers that former Republican Governor Chris Christie (R) reduced before taking audience questions.
“With the issues that have been raising regarding misogyny and discrimination in the New Jersey State police against women, what steps would you take that from happening?” Rosalee Keech asked.
“Investing more in a training bureau … is kind of how you get police officers to conduct themselves how you want,” Fulop replied.
He said accountability is important, as is transparency around complaints since they are not public records, therefore elected leaders cannot see them.
“That should be changed as well,” he asserted.
Deborah McWilliams was curious about crime statistic reporting.
“Jersey City had a CompStat system similar to what New York had. That was stopped in 2019,” she said.
McWilliams added that instead, residents must attend monthly community meetings hosted by police to get regular updates. Therefore, she wondered if a statewide CompStat system could be implemented.
Fulop said reporting the requirements from the state are more comprehensive and robust than what they used to be, so a significant time and personnel investment is necessary.
Regarding a state program, he said “I couldn’t commit to that. A lot of that relies on mayors reporting.”
Later, Fulop addressed a question about street safety.
“New Jersey overall has a lot of government overlay. Often, you have a street in Jersey City the municipality has no control over, like [Route] 139/ We’re only able to do traffic calming on local roads. If elected governor, I would support a statewide Vision Zero plan.”
Another participant also expressed concern about car thefts being on the rise.
“The problem really is you have a gap in the number of judges which is very significant. Those sorts of crime don’t get adjudicated as quickly as it should,” he replied, further stating that a comprehensive list of repeat offenders should exist and get priority in the courts.
“What is Jersey City’s plan… for dealing with migrants living in our parks? What is our plan?” Mary Miraglia asked.
“We really haven’t had that experience in Jersey City where you have encampments,” Fulop explained.
He said that while migrants have been bused from Texas to New Jersey, that hasn’t changed their ultimate goal to set up a life in New York City.
“Jersey City has a very, very robust immigration affairs office. We’re not going to let people sleep in the streets. We’re going to do our best to direct people with resources until we no longer have resources. We will make sure our shelters are used,” Fulop added.
He also indicated that the city has worked with non-profits to help immigrants seeking asylum from Iraq and Ukraine in the past.
“We are meeting regularly to monitor the situation,” he continued.
Kevin Murphy asked if Fulop would commission a study on reparations to address pre-Civil War slavery, which he said a non-profit is already doing so.
“New Jersey has a history of a slave state in the north. It’s a state with segregated schools and segregated housing,” he noted.
Sounds like Fulop envisions a plan like the Soros backed NYC DA to give a free pass to every criminal and rotate them out with zero bail so they can commit crime after crime after crime.
Maybe Fulop should make this his “NY-NJ Crime Equalization Plan.” That should go well in tandem with welcoming the hordes being waved through at the southern border.
“Progressives”
Mayor Fulop is blocking the simple easements required to build the federally funded flood prevention plan to increase the profits of one of his Jersey City developer friends. The flooding of the NJT tracks at the Hoboken Terminal yesterday would not have occurred if the long delayed flood prevention system were in place.
Fulop is a Goldman Sachs STOOGE!
NJ needs a break from Goldman Sachs running our State and fleecing our investments.