Ryan Baylock Joins the McGreevey Slate for Mayor of Jersey City

Mayoral candidate Jim McGreevey welcomes Ryan Baylock to his slate as the prospective Ward E Councilman for Jersey City.

Baylock serves as the Athletic Director of Newark Lab High School, where he founded the athletic programs in 2021. In the first year of his directorship, he established six NJSIAA varsity athletic programs. Today, Newark Lab has nine varsity programs and continues to add opportunities for kids to participate in interscholastic sports. He has recruited and developed coaches, navigated state and county memberships, and designed internal systems to provide an environment for coaches and student-athletes to thrive.

Additionally, Baylock serves as Board President of the Palisade Condo Association in Jersey City. Under his presidency, Baylock assembled a new board for the previously absent Association, transitioned the Association to a new management company, and passed an assessment to replace a crumbling façade through consensus with the board and owners. Baylock successfully oversaw the challenging project, which finished in the summer of 2024. He has also managed and delegated infrastructural and maintenance projects in the building and established new communication systems for the board and stakeholders. As Board President, Baylock also oversees the operational budget for two buildings totaling 36 units, seeking to keep HOA fees stable to avoid pricing out owners while also improving the quality of life in the building and building healthy reserves.

In 2003, Baylock earned a bachelor’s degree from Boston College (Chestnut Hill, MA) with an education major. Baylock has also worked as a College and Career III Teacher at Newark Collegiate Academy, Dean of School Culture at TEAM Academy, a 6th-grade Level Chair, a 6th-grade ELA Teacher, and a Boys Basketball Coach at TEAM Academy and Newark Collegiate Academy.

Baylock stated, “I’ve been a public servant for 20 years as an educator in Newark, New Jersey. During those 20 years, I have always delivered on my commitment to providing high-quality educational opportunities to my students, teachers, and families. Now, it’s time for me to deliver for the community I’ve called home for the past six and a half years: Jersey City.”

Baylock’s key concerns include public safety, improved sanitation, transportation, and small business support. Baylock seeks to increase police presence and improve 911 response times in Ward E, decrease the number of crimes, including package thefts, improve the cleanliness of Downtown pedestrian areas, enhance the reliability of the Jersey City transportation system, work with the business community to enhance customer access to Downtown, work with parents and the school district to facilitate increased education opportunities and excellence, address Downtown’s homeless population, and develop a plan for safer delivery driver conduct. 

Baylock also plans to improve community events Downtown to increase the involvement of small businesses in designing and benefitting from events. These activities will help business owners and combat pedestrian safety near high-traffic areas, particularly regarding speeding delivery bikes on sidewalks and reckless driving. McGreevey’s proposed Jersey City Traffic Bureau would be a significant step in managing these concerns.

Formerly, Baylock, of Puerto Rican descent, started a literacy program for students in Centro Esperanza, Loiza, Puerto Rico, where he assisted students with literacy deficiencies. He designed a 6th-grade writing curriculum at TEAM Academy, with his class achieving higher-than-state-average results on the NJ ASK and PARCC assessments.

As Dean of Student Culture, Baylock improved Team Academy’s TNTP Insight Survey Learning Environment score from 3.0 to 5.5 in one year. As a College and Career Teacher at Newark Collegiate, Baylock developed and implemented an ACT prep curriculum that achieved the highest ACT results in school history: each cohort leveraged 3+ points of growth on the ACT, and 63% of former students enrolled in college.

McGreevey stated, “Ryan Baylock has shown incredible ingenuity and forward-thinking while “practicing what he preaches” and obtaining the results he seeks. Ryan is committed to ensuring Jersey City tax dollars deliver the high-quality services our residents deserve, such as clean and safe streets, enforced standards of civility, and improved educational opportunities.”

Baylock stated, “My main job and responsibility will be to become your advocate in City Hall so that our City’s government can serve you every day. Over the next twelve months, I will be ubiquitous in Ward E and available to hear more about you and your needs to develop a shared vision for our future.”