In an editorial, Jersey City Ward F Councilman Frank “Educational” Gilmore gives his take on why Mayor Steven Fulop is the wrong choice for governor.
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop embodies everything wrong with New Jersey politics. I refuse to sit back and allow someone who has built his career on machine politics to masquerade as an anti-establishment candidate.
While many of us have fought for years to dismantle the unjust political machine in New Jersey, Steven Fulop has been both a willing participant and a beneficiary of that same system.
Now, as he runs for governor and fails to secure the backing of county chairs and the party line, he suddenly claims the system is undemocratic.
But was it undemocratic when he and the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO) leadership pressured Jersey City council members not to run for Senator Cunningham’s seat to protect his gubernatorial ambitions?
Was it undemocratic when he handpicked Angela McKnight as the party candidate for Senate in the 31st district and then turned around and handpicked Barbara Stamato for Assembly in the 31st district because he said there can’t be three African American elected officials in the district?
Was it undemocratic when he initially received the HCDO’s endorsement for governor, smiling, shaking hands, and hosting a party with their leadership in Atlantic City?
Steven Fulop’s criticism of the establishment is nothing more than opportunism.
He didn’t initially support Andy Kim for U.S. Senate because he was deeply entrenched in the establishment he now decries. Only when it became politically advantageous did he withdraw his endorsement of Tammy Murphy and back Andy Kim.
New Jersey needs real change, and Steven Fulop is not the answer. While we strive to dismantle a system rooted in greed and inequity, Fulop is attempting to construct his own political machine right before our eyes.
Are we really to believe that he genuinely cares about the Assembly and Senate candidates that his super PACs are funding? Of course not.
If these candidates were so worthy, why wasn’t he supportive of them in past elections? The answer is simple: because it wasn’t beneficial to him.
Steven Fulop is not an anti-establishment leader—he’s a calculated politician who only criticizes the system when it no longer serves him.
New Jersey doesn’t need more political machines, and it certainly doesn’t need Steven Fulop as governor. Let’s not be fooled by his hollow rhetoric.
Editor’s note: Jersey City Ward F Councilman Frank Gilmore has endorsed Newark Mayor Ras Baraka for governor.
Thank you Councilman Gilmore for having the courage to tell the truth about Mayor Fulop.
Nobody remotely familiar with Fulop’s history and record believes the gov’t integrity/reformer BS. It’s literally the opposite of who he is. The same goes for his anticipated ticket mate Ravi Bhalla who exposed Hoboken taxpayers to massive litigation risk by delivering a cannabis license in Hoboken to Fulop’s wife’s property in order to please the corrupt “boss” he saw as his political sugar daddy as he eyed higher office.
Both these men are prime examples of the evils facilitated by New Jersey’s corrupt single party (in Hudson and most NJ counties)
political system. They literally are the poster children of the evil that they pretend to be fighting.
Unfortunately the down side of Fulop’s low statewide name recognition is that with enough money wisely spent, positive press coverage and a few suckers from the true reformer world climbing on his bandwagon, he may well be able to fool many NJ voters into believing the fictional Steve the reformer narrative.
Voters have a right to know who the candidates really are – not just who they and their highly paid consultants want you to think they are.
Let’s not get fooled again!!