Mussab Ali made history as the youngest member elected to the Jersey City school board and the first Muslim elected to any Jersey City office. Now he may take another shot at history.
The 27-year-old former Board of Education president has filed paperwork with the state’s Election Law Enforcement Commission to run for mayor in the 2025 election. If elected, Ali would be the city’s first Muslim mayor.
Ali declined to comment Monday about his plans, but if he runs he would be joining former Gov. Jim McGreevey, Jersey City Council President Joyce Watterman and his mentor, Hudson County District 2 Board of Commissioners member Bill O’Dea in the non-partisan race.
The election is 19 months away, and McGreevey and O’Dea have been campaigning for months, even if they only officially announced their intentions in November. Downtown Councilman James Solomon and O’Dea’s colleague on the Board of Commissioners, Jerry Walker, are also considering running.
Elected at the age of 20 in 2017, the Pakistan-born Ali decided against running for reelection in 2021 after he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. His cancer is in remission.
He has lobbied to pass laws to lower the voting age for school board elections to 16, and more recently he has called on the Jersey City council to approve a symbolic resolution urging a ceasefire in the war between Israeli forces and the terrorist organization Hamas.
McGreevey and O’Dea both welcomed Ali into the race to succeed current Mayor Steve Fulop, who is running for governor in 2025. O’Dea believes his protege needs a little more experience in public service before running for mayor.
“He is a good young man and I wish him luck,” O’Dea said. “Hopefully at the end of the day, he doesn’t run and joins up with his mentor.”
“I wish him well,” McGreevey said.
Jersey City and Hudson County political insiders have expected for months that Ali would join the field to lead the state’s second-largest city. But they question if he has the financial resources to compete.
“On paper, a super dynamic guy and in real life, a super dynamic guy,” one insider said. “Is he viable as a candidate in these times? To be decided … Can he raise money?”
Insiders say mayoral candidates need to raise at least $2 million to compete in the election. McGreevey, endorsed by the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO), raised nearly $900,000 in the three months after he announced, while O’Dea raised slightly over $59,000 in the same span.
“Mussab is a serious candidate, the question becomes what is his fundraising capability?” another insider said. “I don’t think we know what that is yet at this stage.”
While the HCDO’s influence has never been as much of a factor in the Jersey City mayor’s race as it has in other parts of the county, the party’s endorsement gives McGreevey access to more support and money than the other candidates.
“(Ali’s) story and his upbringing are just more representative of Jersey City than ... McGreevey or O’Dea,” an insider said.
While Watterman told The Jersey Journal she’s running for mayor, she has not yet made a public announcement and she doesn’t seem “motivated,” according to one politico.
Solomon told The Jersey Journal on Monday he is “strongly considering a run” for mayor. Both seen as progressives, Solomon and Ali could take votes away from each other, some insiders polled said.
But not even his battle with cancer could stop Ali from continuing his education at Harvard University Law School, where recently graduated.
“For me, the bottom line is, no matter what educational institution I go to — and this is true for when I was in college, for when I spent a couple months in China, and even now that I’m at Harvard Law School — I’ve always been very clear that my goal is to take the knowledge, take the education, and to bring it back to Jersey City,” Ali said in 2021.
“Because I plan to spend my career here. I plan to raise my family here.”
