With support for Hudson County Commission Billy O’Dea’s campaign crumbling in the final weeks before the election, the race for mayor in Jersey City appears to be a two-way match between disgraced former Gov. James McGreevey and Ward E Councilman James Solomon.
O’Dea’s argument that his 40 years in public office is an asset fell flat when voters realized that his experience made things the way the are today.
O’Dea effectively took himself out of the mayoral race and turned it into a two-way fight between McGreevey and Solomon by releasing an internal poll that showed his rivals in a neck-and-neck position, inspiring voters who do not want the corrupt former governor in City Hall to flock to the progressive Councilman’s camp.
According to an October 22, 2025 report from NJ Spotlight News, that poll showed a three-way tie in the Jersey City mayoral race between former Governor Jim McGreevey, Councilman James Solomon, and Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea.
Since then, more than half his support evaporated and O’Dea dropped into the tier of weaker candidates alongside Jersey City Council President Joyce Watterman; Kalki Jayne-Rose, a musician known for pop music; Mussab Ali, a 28-year-old former president of the Jersey City Board of Education; and Christina Freeman, an unaffiliated 37-year-old single mother who is a city police officer.
It’s possible that McGreevey and Solomon will meet in a run-off because it is unlikely that one candidate will get more than 50 percent of the vote on election day as long as O’Dea and the other lagging candidates remain a factor in the contest.
The poll, conducted by Hart Research, was released shortly after O’Dea’s ally, North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco, announced his endorsement of Republican Jack Ciattarelli for Governor.
Phil Swibinski, the longtime Sacco spokesperson who is also working on O’Dea’s mayoral campaign, claimed there is no connection between the two Hudson County politicans without acknowledging the irony that his firm is evidence of that interrelationship.
That is the same Swibinski who strongly denied the report in a political gossip blog that claimed Sacco was considering Ciattarelli.
“Nick Sacco is a proud, lifelong Democrat, and he has absolutely no intention of supporting Jack Ciattarelli for Governor and has not had any contact with the Ciattarelli campaign,” said Swibinski, about two weeks before Sacco endorsed Ciattarelli.
Ciattarelli is a Trump-endorsed Republican who wants to outlaw abortion, privatize New Jersey’s system of free public education, and repeal gun laws that prevent our streets from turning into a wild west shootout.
For years, Ciattarelli led the charge to dismantle and defund public education in New Jersey.
The Republican recently announced a scheme to siphon taxpayer dollars to wealthy private schools through vouchers, which would cost $1.6 billion just to subidize parents who already enroll their children in private schools, as Jersey City homeowners are facing a 20 percent school tax increase.
The prospect of a statistical dead heat in the race for mayor led most Jersey City voters to refocus on McGreevey and Solomon.
Solomon is a two-term city council member who is largely independent from the developers and the political machine.
“So for me, affordability is the core issue, both because I believe it in my core, but it’s also what I hear in the doors every day,” Solomon said.
After McGreevey challenged the feasibility of his rival Jersey City mayoral candidate’s plan to create affordable housing, Solomon fired back with a strong response.
“It’s very simple: I want to lower your rent, Jim McGreevey wants to raise it. It is also clear that we need a new generation of leaders who believe we can have a better city, not just more of the same stale ideas that got us here in the first place,” said Solomon.
Solomon’s housing plan confronts Jersey City’s affordability crisis by vowing to force developers to include more affordable units and close pay-to-play tax abatement systems.
Solomon’s proposal would create robust tenant protections, including stopping double-digit rent hikes and penalizing landlords for substandard living conditions.
Solomon’s plan would promote homeownership by stabilizing property taxes, building workforce housing on vacant lots, and preventing Wall Street investors from buying up family homes.
Solomon’s comprehensive housing plan also includes mandatory allocation of 20% affordable units in all new projects, strict rent control enforcement, penalties for negligent landlords, and bans on junk fees and rent-fixing algorithms.
Wall Street, Republicans and some of New Jersey’s most notorious political insiders are sticking with McGreevey.
Charles Kushner, the U.S. ambassador to France and the father of President Trump’s son-in-law, made the maximum contribution to McGreevey’s mayoral campaign.
“I have made mistakes, and I own them. Twenty years ago, I fell short of the standards I expected of myself and of public service,” said McGreevey, in a statement issued during his campaign for mayor.” I have never hidden from those mistakes, nor made excuses. I took responsibility, rebuilt my life, and devoted myself to helping others rebuild theirs.”
The simple truth is, McGreevey magically transformed the dross of corruption scandals and an abuse-of-power resignation into the gold of gay martyrdom.
McGreevey’s administration became “one of the most thoroughly investigated” in New Jersey history, with at least four criminal inquiries into fundraising and official acts.
McGreevey’s tenure was marred by scandals, including a “pay-to-play” scheme with former fundraiser David D’Amiano that led to federal corruption charges for D’Amiano; and the resignation of his commerce secretary amid allegations of extorting a casino owner.
The scandals surrounding McGreevey were noted for their role in making his administration a “national symbol of New Jersey’s notoriously dodgy political culture,” and the ethical breaches culminated in his forced resignation in 2004.
Brilliantly, McGreevey spun this forced resignation in the wake of numerous corruption scandals into a mythical martyrdom for being a closeted gay man after he appointed an unqualified romantic partner, Golan Cipel, to a critical homeland security post.
On August 12, 2004, then-New Jersey Governor James McGreevey announced his resignation during a press conference. He revealed, “My truth is that I am a gay American,” and admitted to having “engaged in an adult consensual affair with another man.” McGreevey’s display of contrition stands out as a masterclass in political alchemy.
He didn’t “take responsibility” so much as he commissioned academic studies to dissect his ingenious rebranding of an ethical collapse as a soulful journey of self-discovery, proving that the most carefully constructed prison was the one he built from the wreckage to lock away the truth.
French President Emmanuel Macron called Kushner’s criticism a “mistake” and an “unacceptable statement for somebody who is supposed to be a diplomat.”
Solomon distinguished himself as the only candidate to reject developer donations — a stance that underpins his message of independence from what he calls “self-serving insiders.”
Solomon, a cancer survivor and father, says the next mayor must “stand up to powerful developers and rebuild a city that works for everyone.”