September 13, 2017
Thought beachgate was dead? Think again.
Democratic Mayor of Jersey City Steve Fulop, 40, is seeking re-election and is hoping that mocking Gov. Chris Christie's controversial day at the beach will win over the hearts of a few voters in his first commercial of the campaign season released Tuesday.
"I'm Steve Fulop, and they used to say politics in New Jersey is no day at the beach, until suddenly it was," the incumbent candidate says during the 30-second spot's opening.
The video then cuts to the famed photo taken by NJ.com photographer Andrew Mills, who captured Christie hanging out on the popular Island Beach State Park days after he aided in closing the destination as part of a government shutdown just in time for the Fourth of July weekend.
The campaign video then cuts to Fulop relaxing in a beach chair around various parts of Jersey City, from its farmers markets to schools, to illustrate "what [they're] getting done."
"This commercial was a fun way to show that while negative politics in New Jersey can go as far as causing government to come to a grinding halt, here in Jersey City, we have remained focused on continuing to build a better city for all of our residents, putting people before politics," Fulop said in a statement to NJ.com.
Fulop, who will appear on the November ballot, unseated incumbent Jerramiah Healy in 2013. Fulop was also considered a Democratic favorite in the state's 2017 gubernatorial nomination but announced last September that he would not run in a surprising turn.
Phil Murphy, a former executive at Goldman Sachs, gained the party's nomination last May.
Check out the video below:
