NJ mayor invites Twitter to move to his borough that 'unabashedly supports free speech'

Englewood Cliffs Mayor Mario Kranjac is calling on Elon Musk to move Twitter's headquarters to North Jersey.

Moving Twitter's headquarters to Englewood Cliffs would be "the perfect opportunity" for Musk, Kranjac said in a press release. The borough, less than 4 square miles, hosts numerous large corporations within its borders, and Kranjac went as far as comparing it to California's Silicon Valley.

"This is the perfect opportunity for Twitter to relocate to a community that unabashedly supports free speech and is located right next to the media capital of the world," Kranjac said. "Perhaps Englewood Cliffs will soon be known as Silicon Cliffs."

Englewood Cliffs is home to roughly 5,400 residents and corporate headquarters including Unilever, CNBC and LG Electronics USA. It sits directly across the Hudson River from Upper Manhattan and the Bronx.

When asked where it would house a potential Twitter HQ, Kranjac said there is a large unoccupied corporate campus possibly available, with other sites that could be made available as well.

The mayor added that, like Musk, he is an "unabashed supporter of free speech."

"As a thriving community that already fosters enterprise and diversity of thought, Englewood Cliffs would be proud to have such a stalwart defender of free speech bring new jobs and innovative ideas to our borough," Kranjac added.

The Republican mayor has made his strong opinions known on such topics as affordable housing, which he calls "a socialist scheme." In 2020, Kranjac was censored three times by his council for allegedly engaging in a campaign to “politicize the council, politicize the affordable housing case, lie to and deceive the residents."

Also in 2020, Kranjac made national headlines for billing a teen for $2,500 for police overtime after she organized a Black Lives Matter protest in the borough. He rescinded the fee, but not before a host of public officials criticized the move. The Bergen County Commissioners said "charging people for police overtime as a prerequisite for holding a public gathering creates a chilling effect on free speech."

Kranjac said the borough's support for innovation and business development "without being held back by the outrageous taxation and regulations found in San Francisco" would benefit the tech billionaire in his venture.

Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, acquired a 9.2% stake in Twitter in early April before striking a deal to buy the social media platform for $54.20 a share — or about $44 billion — a few weeks later. He plans to acquire Twitter for $44 billion but has yet to finalize his purchase. Musk, the world's richest person, initially committed about $21 billion of his own cash to the deal.

Jessie Gomez is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email: jgomez@gannettnj.com

Twitter: @jessiereport

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Elon Musk, Twitter HQ invited to move to Englewood Cliffs NJ by mayor