JERSEY CITY, N.J. — James Solomon was elected mayor of Jersey City on Tuesday, thwarting former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey's bid for a political comeback more than two decades after a scandalous resignation.
Addressing supporters who had gathered to watch returns and cheer him on, Solomon said: “Now the mission is clear, and the work begins tonight. And the work we have to do is making Jersey City affordable. So I say tonight, an affordable Jersey City starts now.”
Solomon, a city council member since 2017, defeated McGreevey in a runoff after they finished first and second in an initial round of voting Nov. 4. with seven candidates on the ballot. The city's election is nonpartisan, but both men are Democrats.
At a gathering less than a mile away, McGreevey thanked supporters and congratulated Solomon on his victory.
“There’s nothing I would change in this campaign,” McGreevey said, adding that he’d walked every block in the small city and visited every one of its churches, mosques and temples while getting to know its people. “Thank you for your trust. Thank you for your welcome. And thank you for your hospitality.”
Solomon ran on platform of affordability
Solomon, 41, said he ran for mayor to make New Jersey's second-largest city more affordable, echoing national concerns about the cost of living. New development catering to affluent New York City commuters is driving overall prices higher, and the city is struggling with a budget shortfall that threatens to hike property taxes.
His victory comes a month after New York City's mayor-elect, democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, won on an affordability platform over another ex-governor looking to make a comeback, Andrew Cuomo.
No second chance for McGreevey
The Jersey City race gained national attention because of McGreevey’s candidacy.
It was the first time he was running for public office since resigning as governor in 2004 — a stunning announcement remembered mostly for the spectacle of him declaring: "I am a gay American."
McGreevey’s exit was driven in part by controversy over his decision to hire a man he said was his lover, former Israeli naval officer Golan Cipel, as the state’s homeland security adviser in 2002 despite Cipel’s lack of qualifications and inability to obtain necessary security clearances.
In his victory remarks, Solomon thanked McGreevey for his candidacy, but on the campaign trail he’d said that the former governor represented the “politics of the past.”
“There were just scandal after scandal after scandal,” Solomon said in a recent interview. “That, to me, is disqualifying.”
Jersey City’s rising costs
Jersey City, a swath of high-rises and immigrant neighborhoods, has about 303,000 residents and a municipal budget of about $700 million. Across the Hudson River from Manhattan, it’s in an area sometimes referred to as the Sixth Borough.
The current mayor, Steven Fulop, made an unsuccessful bid for governor and declined to seek a fourth term.
Solomon has vowed to take on developers and special interests, invest in public safety and work with the independent board of education to improve the city’s schools. He said he plans to build on legislation he passed as a council member, including banning rent-hiking algorithms and ensuring that tenants have a right to legal counsel.
Solomon and McGreevey both vowed to stand up to President Donald Trump, whose administration is suing to end Jersey City's so-called sanctuary city protections for immigrants.
Solomon grew up in nearby Millburn, has a master’s degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and was an aide to former Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.
He moved to Jersey City in 2013, is married and has three daughters.
In 2015, about a month after his wedding, he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Now in full remission, he told The AP in an interview that that challenge inspired him to run for public office.
“I had one of these life-is-short moments, Solomon said. ”I was like, ‘you know, I think I can do something I can give back to Jersey City, because Jersey City really had my back during my toughest time.’”
Solomon’s pledges
Solomon said he plans to hire 100 new police officers and supports creating a civilian complaint review board for Jersey City, akin to the police oversight agency in New York City, which would give residents an hand in investigating police misconduct.
He said he’ll appoint a deputy mayor for education to coordinate between the city and the school district, which is independent of the municipal government.
After the race narrowed to a runoff, Solomon received endorsements from three of the other candidates. He was also backed by U.S. Sen. Andy Kim and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.
Even McGreevey got in on the act, saying at a recent debate: “James Solomon is an incredibly likable young guy. And in four years, he’ll be a great mayor.”
On Tuesday, voters declared that Solomon’s time is now.
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