The Jersey City Independent "

Dear Editor,

I’m writing this letter to urge the African American community to unite behind Councilman Steve Fulop for Mayor next year in Jersey City. As an African American and a Republican living in Ward A Greenville, I see ongoing issues plaguing my community and how nothing is getting done by our elected officials on the local, state and federal levels. As you all may know, all of our elected officials who represent the Greenville community are Democrats. It does bother me to a certain extinct because our issues with continue to arise. Because of this, I mostly stick to my party lines but next year I will be voting for a Democrat for the mayoral seat.

I consider Fulop not an ordinary liberal on the local level. As a leader within the city, Fulop has stood up tirelessly against the status quo. When dealing with taxes in the city, Fulop always put residents first and voted “no!” He always saw the hidden tax increases that many others didn’t see. He truly cares about helping residents to keep extra money in their pocket. When dealing with education, Fulop has been the biggest leader in bringing in real change and reform. Three years ago, residents came out in record numbers to vote in the school board race for Team Fulop candidates and in the last election the same occurred. He has a passion to make sure all children from every background succeed in public education in our city.

When dealing with crime, Fulop has been a leader in pushing for more cops for the city. The current administration-Team Healy has destroyed the quality of life in the African American community and has ignored us for years. Mayor Healy, Ward A Councilman Sottolano and Council President Brennan have thrown us under the bus. Crime is a huge issue, what have they done? Where are the foot patrols? Where is the increase in police presence? What happened to revising the curfew law? What happened to stable taxes? What happened to bringing more small businesses? What happened to excellence in our public schools? What happened to more jobs for adults and our teenagers? What happened to ending corruption? What happened to caring for the African American community? What happened to change we can see?

Team Healy continues to ignore the everyday issues facing African American families in the city. It is time for us to unite under a new leader who has a vision like no other. I’ve known Steven Fulop for nearly 3 years now, and he has never let me down. When I have issues going on in my community, I will give him a call and he will get the problem fixed. Fulop is a man with integrity, leadership and potential. With such high unemployment in the African American community, Fulop understands how to bring more jobs and training programs to Jersey City. Since he used to work in the private sector in finance, he knows how money works and how to make deals with businesses. This is what our community needs. As the election nears, Team Healy will continue to lie to us and there will be more candidates joining the race but remember what Fulop has been doing for the past years. He has been the only lone voice sitting on the council fighting to move this city forward. In May 2013, I’m urging African Americans to vote for Team Fulop so we can move this city forward and our community.

Thanks,

Demetrius M. Terry
Fmr. Chair of NJ Hudson County Teenage Republicans
Ward A Greenville Advocate