From Political Insider Column in the Jersey Journal

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(excerpt)

Wednesday evening, before meeting with pit bull-engaged Hamilton Park residents, Jersey City Councilman Steve Fulop held a get-together with an overflow crowd at LITM lounge on Newark Avenue.

Fulop was "gathering momentum" from his unsuccessful attempt to get the City Council to get the city ethics board to accept more stringent guidelines to help clean up government. Key to the proposed changes is that a council member could not also hold a county job.

After the session, people signed their names and addresses to join the quest. By registering people and gathering a small army, Fulop is expected to eventually force the issue by placing the ethics reform on a referendum. The question is when?

Fulop and his backers say they are still devising strategy.

After noting that there were no "Fulop for mayor" banners at the event, the guess here is that the referendum will be on the presidential election ballot - just before the May 2009 city election.

Attending the LITM meeting was a mix of Downtown Fulop supporters, Heights residents friendly to city Police Sgt. James Carroll, who is expected to be a council running mate of Fulop's, and a number of police officers, some of whom once ran with the former Police Chief Ron Buonocore circle.

Oh, Fulop was thrilled to see Newport Waterfront Association personality Sonia Maldonado at his meeting. Maldonado's NWA group apparently may have the city on the run over the attempt to close off the foot of Washington Street. Just who does own that street? As part of the discovery process, NWA is asking for financial disclosure from Fulop and City Council President Mariano Vega - backers of the close-the-street plan.

Fulop continues to be in the news.

Yesterday, he sent out a press release announcing that he is not running in the 2008 primary against Democratic U.S. Rep. Albio Sires of West New York, a member of Democrats for Hudson County. The councilman said he had been talking to HCDO operatives about running under their banner for the congressional seat.

Fulop said he doesn't want to get between two powerful Democratic factions.

He added that he is seriously considering a run for Healy's seat in the 2009 Jersey City municipal election. Did anyone really think the congressional thing was going to happen?

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LITM was packed last night with volunteers and there was a definite vibe in the room that this thing was going to take off.
Maybe it was the booze but i got a kick out of watching the old timers from Ward A and Ward C mingle with the younger downtowners.

Extra bonus was a speech by dale Hartman about the Oct.13
Embankment rally.The people there from outside the ward who would not have known about it promised to help out.

Last time i saw this kind of thing was in the 80's when Tony Cucci was speaking in a club on brunswick against the Re-val.
Back then there was dozens of little Clubs all over town where you could go and speak to local groups.I guess the bars will have to do.

Steven Fulop [info@stevenfulop.com]
Wed 9/26/07 9:02 AM

Opportunity for Change in Jersey CIty and Meeting Information


The events of the last few weeks may be looked upon in the future as a defining moment for New Jersey's political legacy. A series of seemingly separate and unrelated events may prove to be the starting point for much needed change in the way politics and government are conducted in Jersey City, Hudson County, and the state of NJ.

Eleven elected officials and politically connected individuals were arrested in a statewide sting of persons illegally receiving kickbacks and bribes. This is just the latest instance of what is a disturbingly long line of political figures to be arrested for public corruption. Whether is dual office holding, blatant conflicts of interest, pension padding, or pay-to-play, a sense of personal entitlement has been a part of New Jersey's political culture for so long that many politicians see it as a normal way of doing business.

Separatly, as a councilman, I see what I believe to be an abuse of government for ones own purposes. City officials take municipal cars on long trips to the Jersey Shore on the taxpayer's dime. There are council members holding paid positions with entities that do business with the city or are regulated by a city board. A majority of the members of the current city council hold paid positions with Hudson County's administration, and then vote on issues where the City's interests diverge with the County's. The conflicts are blatant, the hypocrisy is disturbing and the explanation that these practices are "public service" is alarming.

Governor Corzine, who has the best of intentions when it comes to making real changes in the state's political culture, tried to bring real reform through the Legislature. Regrettably, he was forced to pass a watered down version of a dual office holding ban because many Trenton legislators did not seem interested in real reform. Earlier this month in Jersey City, my colleagues voted down an ethics reform package that I proposed that would have been the strictest of its kind in the state. This reform package could have been a model for other municipalities. Based on these recent actions, I believe we can only conclude that when New Jersey politicians are offered an opportunity to police themselves, they refuse. I am proposing a way that will allow the voters to force them the changes needed to make our form of government stronger, more efficient, more transparent and more difficult for ill intentioned politicians to ply their trade.

In the weeks ahead we will begin the process of getting two legally binding questions placed on the ballot that give Jersey City's voters the opportunity to institute new ethics reform measures. The first prevents elected officials or government employees from collecting more than one taxpayer-funded salary. If we can't stop individuals from serving multiple government positions as that is permitted by the state, we must ensure that there is less incentive to collect multiple paychecks and pensions by changing pay structures at the local level for individuals already collecting a government paycheck. The second question prevents any entity, such as a developer or contractor that does business with the city, from making any kind of political contribution to local candidates during the times when they are negotiating with the city.

In some cases, people may not realize how much political corruption directly relates to how much they pay in taxes, how it creates barriers to new ideas, and it infringes on delivery of government resources.

I am confident that our vision for a better form of government will become a reality with Jersey City as a model. The change begins with our initial meeting on Wednesday, October 3rd, 7PM at 140 Newark Avenue (LITM).

I am hopeful that you find time to attend this important meeting as the only way to improve our city is with your involvement and working together.

Sincerely,


Councilman Steven Fulop
Ward "E"


Steven Fulop For Jersey City | 107 Christopher Columbus Dr | Jersey City, NJ 07302 | NJ | 07302

Steve is planning a meeting on Oct. 3rd at LITM. It will start at 7:00. I hope that everyone who is interested will show up and discuss the referendum, express any concerns and show support.

Gina