Nearly two decades after resigning at the governor of New Jersey, Jim McGreevey officially launched his bid for Jersey City mayor this morning.
By John Heinis and Daniel Ulloa/Hudson County View
“I think I come to this challenge with both skills from outside and inside government and what I see in this great city is an opportunity, but I see Jersey City at a crossroads,” he began at a press conference at El Sabor del Cafe.
“I see the amazing transformation of downtown, the transformation of the old railroad yards and deteriorated blocks, but now I think we have new challenges. The first and most important challenge is to control property taxes and to ensure that Jersey City is affordable for every working family.”
He also mentioned honing in on quality of life issues, such as balanced development, increased parking, auto congestion, new street painting and striping, and licensing and regulating e-bikes.
McGreevey, who released a campaign kickoff video this morning that began by highlighting his resignation from the governor’s seat in 2004 due to an extramarital affair with a man, said being a former Woodbridge mayor, state assemblyman, and state senator gives him the experience necessary to succeed.
When asked about criticisms that he is not fit to run due to past indiscretions, McGreevey said he has apologized for his mistakes and his 10 years of working in re-entry shows he wanted to make a positive impact in flawed people’s lives.
“This isn’t about yesterday or my yesterday, this election is about our tomorrow, our future, and clearly I’ve made mistakes for which I’ve acknowledged, I’ve apologized, but I also think, God willing, that I can give something back,” he stated.
“At the end of the day, it’s about whether or not you have affordable property taxes, whether you have affordable housing, whether your streets are clean or well striped … whether or not your children have good schools, whether or not there’s apprenticeship training programs. At the end of the day, it’s about results.”
McGreevey also jokingly spelled out “Stack” when asked if anyone convinced him to run, referring to the state senator of the 33rd Legislative District and Union City mayor who has been speaking favorably about his candidacy for months. He was present for the event.
He also has the de facto endorsements of nine Hudson County mayors, with the exceptions of Kearny Mayor Carol Jean Doyle, who was just elected on Tuesday, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, and Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop.
Fulop, who is running for governor instead of seeking a fourth term, and the former governor have had an icy relationship ever since McGreevey was fired from the Jersey City Employment and Training Program in January 2019 for alleged financial improprieties.
While McGreevey is the first candidate to formally declare in the non-partisan, November 4th, 2025 contest, Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea (D-2) has revealed that he is kicking off his campaign on November 18th.
Council President Joyce Watterman and Ward E Councilman James Solomon are also considered likely candidates at the moment, though they have not made any announcements yet.
Dignitaries in attendance included Assemblyman Will Sampson (D-31), Hudson County Sheriff Frank Schillari, Paterson Mayor Andre Sayegh, Ward C Councilman Rich Boggiano, Ward D Councilman Yousef Saleh, former Port Authority Deputy Executive Director Bill Baroni, and former state Senate President Steve Sweeney, a potential candidate for governor against Fulop.
Jimmy has been living with his multi-million boyfriend’s estate NOT IN JERSEY CITY
Jersey City deserves better. Much better.
I think it’s important not to let the narrative become “he resigned because he cheated on his wife with a man,” when the more pertinent detail is that he used his influence as an elected official to put this man into a high paying, high influence government position despite him lacking any relevant qualifications.
In the spirit of McGreevey’s work over the last 20 years, I don’t think that a corrupt act from 2004 should automatically disqualify him from office. Judge him on his platform (more cars, more parking, more traffic).