I’m Running For Mayor of Jersey City!
Former Jersey City Board of Education
President Mussab Ali announces campaign for Mayor
“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. Jersey City raised and educated me.
Jersey City, NJ - Today, former Jersey City BOE President, education non-profit founder, and stage-4 cancer survivor Mussab Ali launched his campaign for Jersey City Mayor. Ali announced his campaign with the following video.
Mussab’s parents immigrated to Jersey City 25 years ago in pursuit of a better education for their children. His mom, a union educator, and his father, a union postal worker,taught him the importance of community, justice, and service to others. Mussab has dedicated his life to those principles and is running for Mayor to give back to the community that raised him.
In 2017, Mussab ran for Jersey City Board of Education and made history as the youngest elected official in Jersey City history at just 20 years of age and the youngest Muslim elected in the country at the time. He worked with community groups to start a lead remediation project which had been stalled since he was in elementary school. Later elected President of the BOE by his peers, Mussab 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. After graduating from Harvard Law where he served as student body co-president, Mussab returned to Jersey City and now researches housing displacement in his hometown.
Mussab made the following statement: “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. Jersey City raised and educated me. When I became the youngest elected official in our city's history, it was because you trusted me. Now, I’m ready to champion a Jersey City that works for all of us.”
###
Mussab Ali is the former JC BOE President, education non-profit founder, and cancer survivor. The son of immigrants, Mussab was raised and educated in Jersey City. A graduate of McNair, Rutgers, Tsinghua, and Harvard Law, Mussab founded the Ali Leadership Institute to equip activists, organizers, and community leaders with the necessary skills for effective civic participation at the local level.