Former New Jersey Gov. Jim McGreevey opened a campaign account to run for Jersey City mayor, a race that’s just over two years away, this afternoon.
McGreevey filed his D-1 form with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJ ELEC) this afternoon, which indicates he is opening a mayoral account.
McGreevey has been teasing a run for mayor for several months, launching the Jack and Ronnie McGreevey Civic Association last month, sending a letter to homeowners a few weeks later that noted he was considering another bid for office, as HCV first reported.
Also a former state assemblyman, state senator, and Woodbridge mayor, McGreevey has not run for office since he won the governorship in 2001, eventually resigning in August 2004 after admitting he had been having an affair with a man while married to a woman.
While he has not run for office since then, he has been politically active since taking up the cause of reentry, currently serving as the chairman of the New Jersey Reentry Corporation, advocating at the state level for ex-prisoners trying to get back into society.
McGreevey lists his treasurer as Angelo Caliente, the payroll supervisor for the Union City Board of Education and the treasurer for the Brian Stack Civic Association.
This is not unexpected given that Stack, the Union City mayor and state senator of the 33rd Legislative District, has been one of McGreevey’s earliest and most ardent supporters.
McGreevey also said on Twitter earlier this month that his civic association is “based upon” Stack’s.
McGreevey has the de facto endorsement of nine of the 12 Hudson County mayors already, with the exceptions of Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, Kearny Acting Mayor Peter Santana, and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop – who is running for governor instead of seeking a fourth term.
Fulop and McGreevey have had an icy relationship ever since the now defunct Jersey City Employment and Training Program fired the latter in January 2019.
While there are still no formally declared candidates for the November 4th, 2025 Jersey City mayoral contest, McGreevey filed his paperwork about 24 hours after HCV reported that Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea (D-2), has $450,312.85 cash on hand.
Both O’Dea and McGreevey are expected to officially declare they’re running before Thanksgiving, potentially making it a grueling two-year campaign for each of them.
Council President Joyce Watterman and Ward E Councilman James Solomon are both possible contenders as well, with Watterman already connected to a Washington, D.C.-based super PAC.
On Wednesday morning, McGreevey said in an email blast that he’d be hosting his campaign kickoff at El Sabor Del Cafe Restaurant on Thursday, November 9th.
“It is a day when we will begin to bring the change we need to Jersey City: to work for greater accountability, reliable services, clean and safe streets, and control property taxes for working families,” he wrote.
“As my friend Mayor Stack has set a visible, tangible standard of excellence in Union City, so too we must work harder and smarter for the residents and community of our Jersey City.”
Editor’s note: This story was updated with new information about Jim McGreevey’s campaign kickoff.