Former Jersey City Board of Education President Mussab Ali announced today that he will run for mayor of Jersey City. Ali joins City Council President Joyce Watterman, former governor Jim McGreevey and County Commissioner Bill O’Dea in the race to replace outgoing mayor Steve Fulop, who is running for governor.
Ali was elected to the Jersey City Board of Education in 2017, becoming the youngest elected official in Jersey City history and the youngest Muslim in the country holding elective office.
During his time on the Board, Ali waged a public battle with stage-4 hodgkin’s lymphoma. The disease is now in remission, according to Ali. He went on to graduate from Harvard Law School, where he served as student body co-president.
Mussab’s parents immigrated to Jersey City from Pakistan in 1999. His mother is an educator and his father a postal worker.
As president of the Board of Education, Ali says he worked to raise teachers’ salaries to $61,000 per year, abolish student lunch debt, and raise the minimum wage to $17 per hour for all district employees.
Recently, Ali has appeared at city council meetings to demand that the body pass a resolution calling for a cease fire in Gaza. The resolution ultimately failed to garner the necessary votes.
“Deciding to challenge the status quo and run for Mayor was no easy choice. But seeing our city—the most diverse in America—struggle with issues like affordability and gentrification, and grappling with the shadows of machine politics, I knew I couldn’t stay on the sidelines” said Ali.
Before the 2025 election, Ali, Watterman, McGreevey and O’Dea may have more competition. Ward E Councilman James Solomon said he is also “strongly” considering a run, telling the Jersey City Times, “It’s great Mussab has announced his run. Democracy is better when voters have more choices.”