Fulop Talks Economic Policies at Hudson County Chamber of Commerce

JERSEY CITY, NJ- Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop, who is also a Democratic candidate for New Jersey Governor, addressed the Hudson County Chamber of Commerce on Wednesday, as part of its Meet the Candidate Series.

Fulop discussed his priorities for economic growth and took questions from the business community.

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Following the breakfast event Fulop told TAPinto Jersey City that the main highlights of the discussion included transportation infrastructure, tax policy, and housing affordability.

“We talked a lot about reforming the tax code, how to invest in transportation in a more responsible way to create better jobs and opportunities for people to live in other parts of the state, and the housing crisis and how that impacts affordability,” Fulop said. “So we went through a lot stuff in detail, I think it was a good conversation, and I’m happy they had us here.”

He also remarked that he was running a campaign intended to “change New Jersey,” touting his experience in Jersey City as proof he can be a good Governor. He said that Jersey City under his leadership has been “fiscally responsible,” “pro-business,” and a “champion of workers,” and that his campaign is the only one actually talking about policy.

“We’ve found a balance,” Fulop said.

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Later, Fulop noted how his administration changed how tax abatements were used locally to benefit the City, shifting the power dynamic from the seller to the buyer and the residents. He said that while people said he would get nothing built by reducing the use of the tax breaks to be more of an incentive and a tool than something baked into the price of the land value and development, Jersey City has continued to build more than anywhere else in the State over the last 5 years and even more than in most of the five boroughs of New York City. Fulop added that the sporadic use of the tax abatements has recalibrated the housing market while still allowing redevelopment to occur.

On transportation infrastructure, Fulop took credit for the Corporate Business Tax that that is now utilized to fund New Jersey Transit. The idea was part of his proposed plan for transportation across the state last month, under which he emphasized the need for taxes to fund public transportation to keep the business community alive.

“Tell me the proposal to fund NJ Transit otherwise,” Fulop said. “Tell me where to cut.”

Later, in a question and answer period with the audience, Fulop discussed the plans moving forward to expand the New Jersey Turnpike in Hudson County to the Holland Tunnel. He reiterated he was against the expansion and confirmed he would reinvest funds albeit for monies allocated for safety improvement.

“Some of those dollars are for safety, which are important,” Fulop said. “I’ve been very clear you could get the same union jobs that you would get from building a highway by building the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, by building the South Jersey Light Rail, by modernizing some of our train stations.”

Fulop went on to say that he believes New Jersey should also incept a plan to gradually take ownership of the PATH through New Jersey Transit, intending to make it an asset maintained by the State for residents. He said there has been a steady decline in service over the last 20 years that has invalidated the system as a quick and reliable extension of the subway system into New York City.

While the PATH train will never make money, Fulop said, it is critical that funding continues to provide for its upkeep and improvements.

‘They provide a utility that’s very important," Fulop said.

According to Fulop, part of the problem is the argument over who pays for the PATH, with New Jersey claiming it serves both states and should be a shared expense and New York alleging it is a New Jersey asset that should be paid for by the State. He said the end result is neglect to the PATH system, but he beileves it is a New Jersey asset that does serve this State more than New York.

“We need to be responsible and say somebody needs to be accountable to make sure that his goes and cannot continue another 20 years of pointing fingers,” Fulop said.

On the topic of housing affordability, specifically how to address people leaving the state due to increasing taxes and costs of living, Fulop argued that while the State is an expensive place to live he does not believe families are moving out of state for that reason and that millionaires in the state have increased and businesses have thrived post-COVID-19 pandemic.

According to Fulop, the main reason the cost of living is so high in the State is due to a lack of housing. He emphasized that 100,000 more units need to be constructed to meet the demand in New Jersey, and that tax reform policy is also part of it.

When it comes to political infrastructure, Fulop was asked about the internal divisions over his gubernatorial candidacy considering that Hudson County Executive Craig Guy and State Senator and Union City Mayor Brian Stack have endorsed U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer for Governor in lieu of Fulop although Gottheimer has not officially made an announcement as of yet.

Fulop recalled he had the support of Hudson County Democratic Organization back in 2022, and highlighted that this is a result of his opposition to the county line. He said that he would change it if elected Governor which aggravated some of the political “infrastructure” in Hudson County, contrasting his “grassroots efforts” to the power plays of the county “political machine.”

He also referenced addressing corruption outside of Hudson County through his proposed plan to enact lobbying changes that would affect prominent Democrats in Middlesex County and across the State. Regardless, he was unfazed by his contenders and underscored the support he had received for his campaign by over 50 sitting mayors and more than a thousand campaign volunteers.

Fulop later added that the State needed to bear down on costs and make some responsible changes on the government side to create an “environment of prosperity.” He said that he ran previously on a similar campaign for Mayor focus on infrastructure- including the political aspect of it- and “everyone was against” him, with even President Barack Obama endorsing then-incumbent Mayor Jerry Healy.

During the discussion, Fulop said higher education is broken in the U.S., pointing to high tuition costs at both public and private universities. He proposed a tuition cap, noting that it shouldn’t be raised more than two percent each year.

“It’s another example of the state legislature... taking the policy proposal and sponsoring legislation which is now moving forward,” Fulop said. “The genesis of that was our policy paper... There’s a lot of universities that don’t like that... they say... ‘If you put a cap on us, then that’s going to cause us to make tough decisions’ ...tough decisions are an important part of the conversation.”

In addition, Fulop said his policy proposal would also outline funding particularly to county colleges, because the “dollars are greatly used” and it is a cheaper opportunity that “you get great mileage out of every dollar that you spend.” He also called for reform around Tuition Assistance Grants for low-income families, that he said over time actually have created a “perverse incentive” for universities to raise tuition. According to Fulop, only a percentage of the tuition is covered, which creates the incentive for universities to raise costs, a problem he said is occurring nationally and unsustainable for families.

On the topic of a potential NJCU merger with HCCC as outlined in a recent Op-Ed by Bayonne Mayor James Davis, Fulop said that there will likely be consolidation of the university with another but that it likely won’t be HCCC which he said he wasn’t sure if they were the “best partner.” He said that when the Governor announces the new partner, he hopes for some independence for NJCU when it comes to its brand and curriculum as well as other services that benefit the community- especially the many first generation American students at the institution.

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