Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop won’t be supporting U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez (D-8) for re-election, claiming “it’s time to move on” due to his father’s federal corruption charges.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“I’m not on board with supporting Rob Menendez for another term in Congress. It’s time to move on. When the Senator first got indicted, I thought maybe I could separate the father and son, and I even expressed that to Rob,” Fulop, the only declared candidate for governor, said in a statement.
“As time went on, I realized it is impossible to do that and the situations are tied together. It’s not a secret that Rob got to Congress only because of his dad’s influence, so it’s fair to move on from Rob now because of that same influence.”
This decision puts Fulop on the opposite side of the Hudson County Democratic Organization, who endorsed Rob Menendez for re-election on Friday, with 10 mayors and Hudson County Executive-elect Craig Guy already on board.
Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, who is expected to run against Rob Menendez in the June 4th, 2024 primary, is the only other mayor who has joined Fulop in not signing on.
They both endorsed Rob Menendez in 2022 and the HCDO has already backed Fulop for governor, as well as Tammy Murphy, Gov. Phil Murphy’s wife, for Senate.
In response, the freshman congressman showed he’s ready and willing to engage in the pugilistic nature of Hudson County power politics.
“With respect to Steve, he has been running for governor unsuccessfully since he was elected mayor in 2013, always at the expense of Jersey City residents,” he said in his own statement.
“Steve’s absence from the city – whether spending time at his Rhode Island mansion preventing people from accessing the beach or traveling the state for his own political ambition – has led to a housing affordability crisis, a broken budget and 911 calls that go unanswered. Steve Fulop is right that it’s time to move on – time to move on from his failed leadership in Jersey City.”
Their exchange continued on social media, with Fulop accusing Rep. Menendez of having his father write the “silly” response, which is the sign of a desperate man “headed to spend the rest of his life in prison.”
To that, Rep. Menendez said “it seems like someone calling you out on your policy failures makes you more mad than the surfers outside your RI estate.”
Fulop’s icy relationship with Senator Menendez is well documented, dating back to 2017 after the latter’s first corruption trial ended in a hung jury.
“To those who were digging my political grave so they could jump into my seat, I know who you are and I won’t forget you,” Bob Menendez said at the time, remarks widely viewed to be directed at Fulop.
Expectedly, Fulop was one of the first to come out and call for Bob Menendez to resign (Bhalla did as well) after being accused of accepting cash, a car, and gold bars, among other things, in exchange for his political influence.
After a superseding federal indictment accused New Jersey’s senior senator of acting as a foreign agent to the government of Egypt, Fulop said in an interview with HCV that the Senate should expel him.
Editor’s note: This story was updated with additional comments from Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop and U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez (D-8).
Time to move on from the nepo baby and his ethically challenged daddy.
And the HCDO.
What is happening with Mayor Fulop’s wife legal battles to open a cannabis store on the ground floor of a Hoboken residential condo building against the wishes of those who live there ?
It is a bit ironic that Fulop is using a family member’s ethical lapses as a basis for “moving on” from a Congessman who, by many accounts, is doing a good job. If ethics became a basis for selecting political candidates, Hudson County might be left without any public officials- which, actually, may not be such a bad thing.
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Bob Menendez the Corrupt Sen is ratting and telling all about other corrupt pols in HC now for reduced sentence when time comes. People like Albio Sires and Richard Turner and King Sacco better worry. This is going to be fun to watch when the round up starts and other rats come out. Get the Pop Corn ready in 2024. Cuban Mafia running HC with them might not like this exposure either.