In a letter to the editor, Jersey City Police Superior Officers Association President Capt. Pawel Wojtowicz explains why he feels Ward E Councilman James Solomon and former Council President Rolando Lavarro shouldn’t be trusted when it comes to public safety.
Dear Editor,
With recent complaints about public safety—from police response times to traffic enforcement and other issues—let’s not forget how we got here.
As someone who grew up in Jersey City and knows its streets and neighborhoods, I know that James Solomon is not right for Jersey City. Between 2023 and 2024, Jersey City faced an increase in numerous violent crimes, including rapes (95% increase), robberies (65% increase), and burglaries (32% increase).
These crime increases are not hypothetical. Given the recent complaints about public safety, we must acknowledge that we are here today because of the actions advocated by Councilman Solomon and Councilman Lavarro.
Councilman Solomon has proposed and continues to support defunding public safety through his selection of running mates, past statements, and voting record on the council.
In a video of the Jersey City Municipal Council Meeting, when voting on a motion to introduce a second amendment to the 2020 municipal budget, Council Solomon stated,
“Police officers are not enough. And the data, data reported to the FBI from police departments across America, shows that our police department is roughly twice as large, right, as departments…I genuinely think that this budget is a mistake and it’s going in the wrong direction, and I had to say it.”
In 2020, Solomon and Lavarro stated that Jersey City must redirect funds from public safety, millions of dollars from the fire and police departments.
That was over four years ago, and since then, at Councilmen Solomon and Lavarro’s requests, the City has made drastic cuts to public safety.
Some council members pushed back against these proposed cuts, but unfortunately, the City still enacted these substantial decreases.
On August 11, 2020, Councilman Solomon tweeted, “Remember, too, that our police department is already twice as large as departments in similarly sized cities.”
In 2019, the public safety budgets were $106 million for the police and $67 million for the fire department. The following year, these budgets were cut.
In fact, in 2020, when the administration reduced funding, Councilmen Solomon and Lavarro publicly stated that the cuts should go even further. Ultimately, in 2021, the City reduced the police budget to $90.5 million.
Councilman Solomon’s statements and votes demonstrate that he does not support public safety, the Jersey City Police Department, or the interests of our City.
Solomon has repeatedly voted to reduce JCPD staffing:
1. On August 12, 2020 (Res. 20-556), he voted against hiring 23 new police officers.
2. On August 24, 2020, he motioned to redirect $5 million from the public safety budget to other services. In the Hudson County View on August 24, 2020, John Heinis wrote, “Councilman Rolando Lavarro and James Solomon are proposing redirecting $5 million from the public safety budget into community programs — without laying off police officers.”
3. As reported on August 27th, 2020, by TAP Into, “Dozens of activists spoke out via telephone in an attempt to get the city to reduce funding to the police department, the majority of whom rejected the notion that law enforcement is a means to a safer Jersey City.
After voting down the last-minute amendment by Council members Rolando Lavarro and James Solomon 7-2, the city council adopted the $658 million budget plan 6-2-1.”
Rolando Lavarro, who is running with Councilman Solomon, and Councilman Solomon were the principal councilpersons who worked to reduce police funding.
4. Solomon abstained from voting on Resolution 20-558, which provided funds not to exceed $175,000 for the JCPD to work overtime in the Jersey City Housing Authority.
Additionally, Councilman Solomon supported a petition that “demand(ed)” “a 50% cut in the JCPD budget for the upcoming fiscal year.
This cut must be made permanent by implementing the longer-term recommendations below …” Recommendations included: “Remove police from Jersey City Public Schools,” and “Freeze all police department hires for at least 5 years.”
Jersey City must fund community policing efforts so that the JCPD can respond to crime promptly, patrol our neighborhoods to stop crime in its tracks, and meet with our youths, our future, to foster positive relationships between all residents and our police department.
When a councilman publicly states that he wants to defund the police, reduce the department because he believes it’s twice the size it should be, and freeze hiring-todays results speak for themselves.
Thank you for your consideration.
Respectfully,
Pawel Wojtowicz
President of the Jersey City Police Superior Officers Association
Editor’s note: The Jersey City PSOA has endorsed former Gov. Jim McGreevey for mayor.
If all they have is a bunch of stale quotes from 5 years ago, then McGreevey is cooked.
And guess what, police don’t prevent crime and they don’t solve crime either, so why keep wasting money on putting up a standing army in the poorest parts of the city? Invest in raising these communities up, not occupying them with an army.