Tom Zuppa

Tom Zuppa

Nonpartisan

Candidate, Jersey City Council Ward C

Elections and appointments

Next election

November 4, 2025

Education

Bachelor's

Fordham University, 2009

Law

Seton Hall University School of Law, 2012

Personal

Profession

Lawyer

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Personal Facebook

Tom Zuppa is running for election to the Jersey City Council to represent Ward C in New Jersey. He is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.^[source]

Biography

Tom Zuppa was born in Edison, New Jersey. He earned a bachelor's degree from Fordham University in 2009 and a J.D. from Seton Hall University School of Law in 2012. His professional experience includes working as a private practice lawyer licensed in New Jersey, New York, and the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Zuppa previously worked as a prosecutor for Hudson County from 2013 to 2017. He has been affiliated with the Block by Block Community Initiative, Friends of the Five Corners Library, the Journal Square Community Association, the Golden Door Rotary Club of Jersey City, the Jersey City Theater Center, The Kennedy Dancers, Inc., the United Children's Music Project, the Hudson County Bar Association, and the New Jersey State Bar Association.

Elections

2025

See also: City elections in Jersey City, New Jersey (2025)

General election

The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.

General election for Jersey City Council Ward C

Incumbent Rich Boggiano, Dawn Giambalvo, Shahab Khan, and Tom Zuppa are running in the general election for Jersey City Council Ward C on November 4, 2025.

		Candidate
		Rich Boggiano (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Dawn Giambalvo (Nonpartisan)
	Submit photo	Shahab Khan (Nonpartisan)
		Tom Zuppa (Nonpartisan)

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined.
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

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2021

See also: City elections in Jersey City, New Jersey (2021)

General runoff election

General runoff election for Jersey City Council Ward C

Incumbent Rich Boggiano defeated Kevin Bing in the general runoff election for Jersey City Council Ward C on December 7, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rich Boggiano (Nonpartisan)	58.5	1,897
		Kevin Bing (Nonpartisan)	41.5	1,347

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 3,244
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

General election

General election for Jersey City Council Ward C

Incumbent Rich Boggiano and Kevin Bing advanced to a runoff. They defeated Tom Zuppa in the general election for Jersey City Council Ward C on November 2, 2021.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Rich Boggiano (Nonpartisan)	43.8	2,175
✔		Kevin Bing (Nonpartisan)	29.7	1,473
		Tom Zuppa (Nonpartisan)	26.4	1,309
		Other/Write-in votes	0.2	9

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,966
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2025

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

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2021

Tom Zuppa completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2021. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Zuppa's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a fourth generation Jersey City residents and son, grandson, and great-grandson of educators, small business owners, and community leaders. I am an attorney who was a former Hudson County Assistant Prosecutor, and am now in private practice as a civil litigator. I am a community activist who started the Block by Block Community Initiative to address neighborhood concerns by bringing people together and making positive changes one day and one block at a time. I am also President of the Friends of the Five Corners Library. I am running for office to fight for my neighbors who have been left behind and to bring A New Day for Ward C, focused on uniting our community, highlighting our diversity, and bringing positive change to the Ward.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• I am running to bring positive change to our community on issues of cleaner & safer streets, a commitment to affordability, and better maintaining and creating more open, green space for our community.
• Ward C is left behind on issues of quality of life, allocation of City resources, and the quality of those resources because we do not have a strong, effective advocate.
• I am running as the independent voice for Ward C because our residents deserve someone who will fight for them on issues directly affecting our Ward.

Community Question Featured local question

How would you set priorities and develop plans in a way that will reflect community values and goals?

Ward C lacks accountability and access to information. I will hold regular community meetings with a virtual option, as well as send regular updates to our residents so that they have the most updated information on proposed developments, community events, and issues within the Ward and City.

Ward C needs an independent voice that will fight for our residents on Ward C issues, including quality of life issues that have gone ignored, including having safer and cleaner streets, a commitment to affordable housing, creating and better maintaining our open, green space, and increasing recreation opportunities. We also need to work with the Board of Education to fully fund our public schools so that our children have access to world-class education and facilities.

Community Question Featured local question

What do you think about Jersey City's financial health? Would you make any changes?

The City is thriving and it is important for Ward C's representative to address rising taxes with the decline in quality of life of our residents. The Pompidou Museum, for example, will increase the tax burden on Jersey City's residents, so while Journal Square deserves to have big vision projects the way other parts of the City do, we must budget for necessary improvements in our Ward's public buildings and street and sidewalk repairs. We must also ensure that the Museum employs Jersey City residents and improves the Ward C economy for local businesses.

Community Question Featured local question

What do you think about the affordable housing options currently available in Jersey City? Would you make any changes?

Ward C, including Journal Square, has millions of dollars of investment and development planned for it. The proposed projects all lack affordable housing. Someone living in a 1-2 family home that is slated for demolition and to become a high rise will be displaced and unable to afford living in the same neighborhood they call home. That is unacceptable and requires an inclusionary zoning ordinance that will mandate on-site affordable housing.

Our Ward also have several affordable housing complexes that were built by the City over the past several decades. They are in need of substantial attention from the City for repairs, a commitment to improving quality of life, and ensuring that the sites remain affordable for their current residents.

Community Question Featured local question

What plans do you have regarding the police department? Would you make any changes from current policy?

As a former prosecutor, I am best equipped to lead the conversation between community leaders and law enforcement on modern-day policing, including robust community policing, de-escalation training, and increased mental health services. Ward C often experiences slower response times to calls for service. I am working towards having walking posts in our communities, including but not limited to, the Journal Square PATH Plaza, along with a partnership between the Jersey City Police Department and Port Authority Police Department to ensure quality of life crimes are addressed and individuals experiencing homelessness are connected with social workers and services rather than being incarcerated.

Community Question Featured local question

What policies would you have implemented in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic? Why did you select those policies?

The City's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic, in terms of opening testing and later, vaccine sites, was positive. At the outset, Hudson County's vaccine sites were not accessible to residents who did not own a car, so a more central location should have been selected in each Ward.

Our business community, renters, and landlords also should have been better informed about City, state, and federal grants and assistance programs to address financial difficulties caused by the pandemic. The City's rent freeze is appropriate and properly coincided with the State's moratorium on evictions for lack of rent payments. We cannot leave residents out in the cold during this ongoing difficult time.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

1) Safer and Cleaner Streets, including road and sidewalk improvements

2) Ending Chronic Homelessness

3) A Commitment to Affordable Housing

4) Public Transit Infrastructure Plan

5) Creation and Maintaining of Open, Green Space

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

The Councilperson for Ward C possesses a tremendous ability to make life better for residents of the Ward by taking a back to basics approach to improve quality of life. Residents of the Ward should be able to readily access their representative, receive a response, and observe immediate action on local issues, such as street cleanliness, street and traffic safety, and public recreation opportunities.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

My grandmothers were role models of mine. They have both passed but their legacy of weathering terrible moments of loss in their lives and still maintaining strength and independence for our family sticks with me. Family is very important to me and sets the example of what leadership and service look like for me.

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington starring James Stewart as the wide-eyed and idealistic Senator whose sole mission is to serve his constituents. I have never been afraid of speaking truth to power, even against seemingly insurmountable odds. Having that integrity and political courage to make difficult, albeit unpopular decisions is a core characteristic of a leader. I believe government exists to serve and improve the lives of its residents.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to be remembered as someone who dedicated his life to his family and to public service, leaving our community in a better place than how I found it.

What is your favorite book? Why?

Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, about the individuals from different backgrounds and political leanings brought together by President Lincoln to serve their country at a tumultuous time in our history. The book remains relevant to today's politics, as our elected officials need to remember that they are beholden to the people who elected them and responsible for working together for the common good.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

No. An understanding of how our system operates is necessary, but in Ward C, we have a representative with 8 years of experience on the Council, and decades of experience as a government employee, yet issues that faced the Ward the past 8 years persist today with no improvements. When that occurs, it is time for a change and a new voice with a fresh perspective.

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

The ability to perform a critical analysis of issues before the Council is essential. It has been suggested by the incumbent that there is not enough time to review information that is provided a week before a scheduled vote and quantified as being approximately 500 pages. As an attorney, I am accustomed to reviewing voluminous documents expediently, conducting analysis, and reaching a conclusion. While not the only profession capable of such analysis, being a lawyer and litigator makes me uniquely qualified in this election to successfully serve Ward C.

Tell us your favorite joke.

Why doesn't a teddy bear want to eat? Because it's already stuffed. -- Courtesy of my 6 year old Godson

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