ChangeMakers 2020: Mayor Steven M. Fulop, City of Jersey City, NJ, USA

Exclusive: Mayor Steven Michael Fulop had played pivotal role for historic Nepal Flag Raising Ceremony in Jersey City Hall in 2017 which was first not only in the United States but in the world for Nepali flag to be unfurled in government office building. Likewise, TPS (Temporary Protection Status) Council Resolution for Nepalis living in the United States (2015/2018) and historic Sister City signing ceremony between City of Jersey City and Nepal’s Indrawati Rural Municipality (2019) were materialized due to his steadfast leadership. Mayor Fulop has been working hard to ensure every community in the city gets their fair shot. Mayor Fulop is the 49th and current Mayor of Jersey City, New Jersey- named the most diverse city in the nation.

Since Mayor Fulop took office in 2013, Jersey City residents have seen five consecutive years of stable taxes and four consecutive credit rating upgrades. Meanwhile, more than 300 new police officers have been hired, nearly 1,500 units of affordable housing built or approved, recreation expanded with nearly 30 new programs, nearly $10 million invested in parks and open space, and nearly 800 small businesses opened, creating approximately 10,000 new jobs.

During his time in office, Mayor Fulop has shown what smart, progressive leadership can accomplish – and opened a new chapter for Jersey City.

Under his leadership, Jersey City became the first city in the state – and the 6th city in the country – to ensure paid sick leave. Mayor Fulop has pioneered new ideas for helping prisoners re-enter society; he’s passed legislation to protect small businesses and encouraged more to open shop; made Jersey City one of the greenest cities in the nation. He’s undertaken sweeping public safety reform, with the JCPD now seen as a model for diversity around the nation. And Mayor Fulop has led the city to record economic development that’s benefited families of all income levels. All without raising taxes.

Mayor Fulop is a first-generation American, a lifelong New Jerseyan, a Marine, and a triathlete. He grew up in a Jewish family in Edison, New Jersey, the son of Romanian immigrants. His mother was the daughter of Holocaust survivors and worked in an immigration services office helping others gain citizenship. His father owned a delicatessen nearby in Newark, where Mayor Fulop worked behind the counter as a teenager.

Mayor Fulop graduated from Binghamton University in 1999 and spent time abroad studying at Oxford University in the UK. After college, he joined Goldman Sachs, the investment banking f