Because it draws thousands of elected officials and business leaders from around the state, the annual New Jersey League of Municipalities event has survived as an unofficial kickoff for the gubernatorial race.
Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop is taking that approach one step further — and, perhaps, one year early.
Those attending the League conference, which officially begins Tuesday, will be hit with three Steve Fulop for Governor billboards on the Atlantic City Expressway. (Just a reminder: The next gubernatorial election is not until 2025.)
The billboards, which went up Monday, say the following:
- “Join Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small and support Steve Fulop for Governor”;
- “What do these 23 municipalities have in common?” (written above the soft lettering of the towns of 23 mayors who already have expressed support for Fulop).
And then, there’s this, complete with a picture of President John Kennedy, who is quoted as saying:
- “We, the people, are the boss, and we will get the political leadership, be it good or bad, that we demand and deserve.”
Fulop, who had a short-lived campaign for governor in 2017, offered the following thoughts on the platform formerly known as Twitter:
“A little different approach — we took a couple billboards out on the Atlantic City Expressway to greet the 19,000 municipal officials going to the League of Municipalities today.
“Years ago, I would host a party down there and I found that it wasn’t the best use of time or resources … (of course ppl liked the open bar, but I figured there are plenty of opportunities for that outside of me paying).”
1/2 A little different approach – We took a couple billboards out on the Atlantic City Expressway to greet the 19,000 municipal officials going to the League of Municipalities today. pic.twitter.com/Txmebkvp8f
— Steven Fulop (@StevenFulop) November 13, 2023
Will it impact the election? We’ll find out two years from now.
All we know is this: The race is on.
