The 27-year-old Fulop is looking to be the next Democratic Congressman representing the 13th U.S. District, which encompasses much of Hudson County, and parts of Essex, Union and Middlesex Counties. It's easier said than done, since he's running in the June primary against a formidable opponent, high-ranking Democrat Robert Menendez.
Menendez, the former Union City mayor who has risen through the state's political ranks as an assemblyman and state senator, is running for a seventh term in office.
A native of Edison, N.J., Fulop is four years removed from graduation from SUNY-Binghamton (and study abroad at Oxford University in England) with a degree in political science. A resident of Jersey City since 2000, he has served as the president of the Paulus Hook Neighborhood Association and the Downtown Coalition of Neighborhood Associations. He has also served in the Marine Corps Reserves as a lance corporal, doing a tour in Iraq in 2002.
But Fulop does not see his lack of experience as an impediment to running for higher political office. Rather, he believes that his youth and the leadership skills that he learned on the battlefield and on the homefront will enable him to be a successful candidate.
Fulop also believes that Congressman Menendez has spent so much time in Washington rising up the political ladder that's he's forgotten about addressing the concerns of his constituents in the 13th District Fulop hopes to pull off an upset on June 8 in the Democratic Primary.
Fulop sat down with the Jersey City Reporter for his first interview with the media since he announced his candidacy on April 12. During the hour-long interview, he addressed how he became the candidate who received the backing of Jersey City Mayor Glenn D. Cunningham (who has been in a power struggle with Menendez for some time), what the issues are on his political platform, and his age and lack of political experience, among other topics.
How did he become Candidate Fulop?
Steven Fulop had just returned from a stint in Iraq in the summer of 2003 when he met Jersey City Mayor Glenn Cunningham, himself a former Marine Corps soldier from 1961-1965. Cunningham and Fulop developed a friendship, and soon Fulop would meet with the mayor on issues affecting the Downtown area. But it wasn't until February 2004 there were actual discussions with the mayor and other city officials about backing Fulop for political office.
"[Cunningham] approached me and he said they were looking for somebody to run, someone who was honest, who had never been in politics before," said Fulop, "and would I consider it if he gave me some support."
Fulop hadn't had any previous political experience and hadn't even worked on a political campaign.
There were rumors that he never voted as a resident of Jersey City, and wasn't even registered to vote. When asked if he was registered to vote in Jersey City, Fulop said he was, but didn't remember exactly when he registered. He believed that it was about a year ago. Fulop cited his military service as a reason for not taking part in past elections.
"Last year I was actually deployed when the elections were on, so I wasn't thinking about absentee ballots, and the year before that I was on Parris Island," said Fulop. "And prior to that, as far as voting over here, I wanted to understand the landscape a little bit better before I actually got involved. So I wanted to understand who's who and what they really represented."
As Fulop put it, "I wasn't thinking absentee ballots; I was thinking about my life."
Fulop also addressed reports that he had accumulated a hefty election war chest by saying that people may have had the mistaken notion that he was another Jon Corzine, the U.S. Senator from New Jersey who was once the co-chairman and co-executive officer for Goldman Sachs.
Fulop's campaign manager Steven Newmark said that Fulop only has "a few thousand dollars" and that if he was a millionaire or had plenty of money, it would be public record since Fulop would have to declare all finances with the Federal Election Commission.
What does he stand for?
Fulop said that if he were elected to Congress, it would be because of his stance on what he believes are three key issues: education, immigration and unemployment.
"If you look at Hudson County, unemployment is sky-high versus the rest of the country," he said. "I would attribute that to lack of job creation, and you have big corporations. You have big jobs, but not jobs for the average person."
Fulop went on to suggest that there should be more job training, more money for education and tax incentives to allow those to pursue job training.
On the issue of immigration, Fulop said that he would work harder for immigrants than Menendez did, by helping them in such areas as work permits and green cards. He did not offer any specifics. He added that he understood the needs of new immigrants, as he is a first generation American, one of three children of Romanian parents.
On his website, Fulop lists his stands on two other issues - taxes and homeland security.
On the issue of taxes, Fulop states, "With my background in business, I understand that the only way to get our economy moving in the right direction is through tax-cuts to the working and middle classes, not the elite."
As far as homeland security, Fulop lists on the website that "Specifically within our district, I would like to see greater security for our ports. Currently they are under-defended and I will fight for more federal dollars to protect us all."
Who supports him?
Fulop said that he has visited the traditional voting bases for Menendez - Union City, West New York, North Bergen and other parts of Northern Hudson County. He said that many voters in these towns who voted for Menendez have been supportive of his candidacy. As far as major political figures, Fulop said that he would not name any until the time is right. He did admit that some political figures would be reluctant to come right out and announce their support for him out of fear of Menendez's powerful presence.
Fulop noted that his only visible support has been Mayor Glenn Cunningham, whom he commended for standing up to the political bosses in Hudson County. Recently, Fulop reached out to Jaime Vazquez, currently the head of Jersey City Veteran Affairs Department.
Vazquez himself was considering, in March, a run with Cunningham's support. At the time, Vazquez said that he had already met with various figures in the Cuban community in Union City and West New York who wanted to topple Menendez because they felt he was not addressing their concerns.
By April, it was a different story, as support for Vazquez was pulled at least a week for the April 12 filling deadline for candidates.
Vazquez at the time blamed members of the mayor's inner circle such as Bobby Jackson and Joseph Cardwell for Cunningham losing interest in him. Vazquez, however, has had the opportunity to sit down with the young Fulop.
"We did have a meeting a cordial meeting. I did give him some advice," said Vazquez, who would not comment further.
What do the voters think?
Fulop made a public appearance last week at the annual "Meetball Dinner" sponsored by the Van Vorst Park Association, that was held in the St. Peter's Prep cafeteria. The downtown residents who were in attendance had known Fulop from his time as the president of the Paulus Hook Neighborhood Association, but didn't know much else about him.
One city official not at the dinner commented last week on Fulop's chances against Menendez, "The only question is, by how many votes will he lose? He lacks issues orientation, and when he goes to these debates, it will be hard to match Menendez."
One longtime supporter of Mayor Cunningham summed up Fulop running against Menendez by saying, "If you're going to shoot an elephant, you shouldn't use a gnat's gun."
Fulop has admitted as much that he faces an uphill struggle, but hopes that his loss, if there is one, would attracts Menendez's attention so that he'll come back and re-introduce himself to his constituents.
Menendez responds
Last week, Rep. Menendez responded to a few points that Fulop addressed.
On the question of engaging in public debates with Fulop, Menendez said, "I would consider debating a viable and dedicated candidate for Congress. Mr. Fulop's campaign appears to have the markings of a councilman's campaign, not a campaign to represent the 647,000 people of the 17 cities across four counties that are the 13th Congressional District."
On Fulop's claim that Menendez has not initiated any legislation of his own in the past two years, the Congressman responded by citing eight pieces of legislation that he has introduced in the last two years on issues ranging from access to affordable prescription drugs to safety regulations on jitney vans.
Menendez said the county's unemployment rate was 10.5 percent when was first elected to Congress in 1992.
In 2004, the unemployment rate was 6.7 percent, he said. "One proven way to put people to work in good paying jobs is to invest in our nation's infrastructure," he said. "As the senior New Jersey member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, over the years I have successfully brought home money for a variety of transportation projects that have not only helped getting people and products from one point to another, but also created jobs."
Menendez touted accomplishments such as delivering $750 million in federal funds toward the construction of the Hudson Bergen Light Rail (HBLR) Transit System.
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