The next step Jersey City mayor Steven Fulop sets his sights on year two, while others ponder his future

Listen to this article

Fulop would prefer to talk about all of the economic development that has taken place in Jersey City — and will take place in Jersey City. But he knows that’s not the future everyone wants to discuss.A little time on the bike, maybe some laps around the track or in the pool. You know, just your everyday routine.

To be clear, Fulop does indeed compete in his fair share of triathlons and even completed one in May in South Jersey. But now, after a year in office, a new question presents itself: are triathlons all that Fulop is training for?

Presented with a question about his rising star in state politics, Fulop interjects.

“Is that the governor question?” he quips. “Is that what that one is?”

Indeed, many politicos around the state have already penciled him in for a hypothetical 2017 gubernatorial primary showdown with Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-West Deptford). But Fulop is careful not to show his hand, drawing a delicate balance between first-term mayoral rhetoric and ambitious politics.

He would prefer to talk about all of the economic development that has taken place in Jersey City — and will take place in Jersey City. But he knows that’s not the future everyone wants to discuss.

“If I were to tell you today that I am not thinking about it and it’s three years away, you wouldn’t believe me,” Fulop said. “If I told you that I’m thinking about it and it’s three years away, I’m doing a tremendous disservice to things we’re trying to accomplish here. So there’s no win for me in that question.”

The ‘political fast track’

Take a look back at how Fulop, an Edison native, ended up with the big desk on Grove Street and it’s easy to see why he’s generating buzz.

A former Goldman Sachs staffer turned Iraq War veteran, Fulop first made waves in Jersey City by unseating incumbent Ward E Councilman Junior Maldonado in 2005. Then, last year, Fulop again ran a successful underdog campaign, defeating two-term Mayor Jerramiah Healy, who had high-profile support from the likes of President Barack Obama and then-Newark Mayor Cory Booker.