Hudson County Executive Craig Guy discussed his role in fighting for the $120 million in state aid awarded to Jersey City, gearing up his re-election campaign early, and Jersey City Mayor James Solomon sitting out an early round of endorsements.
By Dan Israel/Hudson County View
“I grew up in, served in, still serving in, and live in Jersey City: It needs help. We can regurgitate on how Jersey City got there, but that’s not going to serve the purpose of citizens right now,” Guy said in an interview with HCV.
“I was happy along with Senator [Raj] Mukherji and Senator [Brian] Stack to join with Jersey City and be a healthy voice to the governor and to the legislature every day, five times a day, for the past six months. And literally up until the day of the vote, myself and Senator Mukherji trying to ease the terms of the loan to make it more financially inviting for Jersey City.”
The terms of the $105 million loan the City Council was considering with the state was a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a 10-year repayment schedule at 2.75%, which requires an approximate 15 percent tax increase.
This was one of two options HCV exclusively reported earlier this month.
At the same meeting last week where the council introduced an $886.5 million budget with a 15.5 percent tax hike, several of the electeds thanked Guy, along with Hudson County’s legislative delegation, for securing that major state funding.
That is potentially coupled with over 14 percent increases that have already been approved for both the county and school portions of Jersey City residents’ tax bills.
While Guy stated that the massive city deficit originated from former Mayor Steven Fulop administration, without saying his name outright, he was more focused on the work he and the state legislators put in to alleviate some of the pain.
Guy said he’s going to continue to “stand up” every day, “as hard as he can,” for the citizens of Jersey City as he and other electeds further negotiate the MOU for the state loan.
“That’s why I was happy to have the relationships that we have. We worked real hard to help Jersey City every day with the mayor and the city council of Jersey City to make sure that it gets stable and then you build back to the city that we all want to see,” he added.
While the 2027 Democratic primary is still about 11 months away, 10 Hudson County mayors came out early in support of Guy getting a second term as county executive, as HCV first reported.
The only holdouts are Solomon and North Bergen Mayor Nick Sacco, though Guy first wanted to acknowledged those who didn’t hesitate to support him.
“I think it’s a reflection of our government, our administration, on how we work hard for every municipality,” Guy declared.
“These municipalities use a ton, and we offer a ton of our county services to every municipality. So I think it’s a reflection on our departments on the good work that they do every day to help.”
Shortly after being elected to a second term as chair of the Hudson County Democratic Organization last month – which he similarly telegraphed with 10 mayors supporting him – Guy announced he would be seeking re-election as county executive.
He then rattled off endorsements from LIUNA, the Eastern Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters, and Whole Spectrum Autism CEO and Founder Sherry Singh.
Elected to his first time in a landslide in 2023 against now-Ward E Councilwoman Eleana Little, Guy currently does not have any challengers lined up, nor has anyone even publicly expressed an interest in running just yet.
According to Guy, Hudson County has delivered on vital services at the county-level from addressing food insecurity, to supporting veterans across all 12 municipalities, thus the backing of a majority of mayors in the county.
“We’ve delivered thousands of bag of meals, of fresh produce, of non-dairy products, thousands to peoples’ doorsteps. And that’s notwithstanding all the food pantry and non-profits that we work with, but our Department of Senior and Veterans Affairs has delivered thousands upon thousands of bags to people in need,” he asserted.
“No matter if you’re from Guttenberg, to the tip of Bayonne, to Kearny, to Harrison, we’re going to be there to help. And through that, I feel the mayors and the leadership in every town recognize that and feel confident that they’ll have those same services plus moving forward.”
Sacco not offering his endorsement is not surprising, given their strained relationship exemplified by things like Sacco pinning the Hudson County Schools of Technology (HCST) financial mess on Guy that resulted in a multi-million-dollar budget hole.
Guy, however, has recently touted his role in initiating the audit, of which the preliminary findings pointed to a “systemic failure” of the budgeting and accounting department and resulted in the closure of two HCST programs.
And while Guy did not endorse Solomon for mayor last year, backing opponent ex-Governor Jim McGreevey’s attempt at a political in the November 2025 election and staying on the sidelines in the December runoff, they seemed to be on the same page earlier this year.
They collaborated successfully endorse and elect “consensus candidates” for the Democratic primaries – most of whom don’t have challengers in the November election for the Hudson County Board of Commissioners.
This was deemed a “Unity Ticket” between the Hudson County Democratic Organization (HCDO), of which Guy also chairs, and the burgeoning coalition of local progressive Democrats.
“I can only attest to all the great work, that I’m proud of, our government does in Jersey City. I can only speak about the folks that are on the endorsement,” Guy said when pressed on why Solomon decided to take a wait and see approach.
“Whether it’s a political answer or a timing answer from him, that’s something that I don’t want to speak for him.”
When pressed further for his opinion on the lack of Solomon’s endorsement, Guy essentially said his actions in the city speak for themselves.
“Our great work that we do in Jersey City could make it easy for any elected official that represents Jersey City to endorse me and our candidates,” Guy replied.
Jersey City spokesman Nathaniel Styer said Solomon’s full attention is on the Jersey City’s budget for now as public budget hearings began this week.
“County Executive Guy is an invaluable part of the coalition that secured a historic $120 million in state aid to address Jersey City’s fiscal crisis, and we’ll continue to work in close partnership on Jersey City’s recovery and fighting for working families,” Styer said.
“At this time, the mayor is laser-focused on passing the city’s 2026 budget and will not be making any political endorsements.”
