The Jersey City mayor’s race is headed for a runoff next month between downtown City Councilman James Solomon and disgraced former NJ Gov. Jim McGreevey.
Solomon was the top vote-getter in the race, securing 29.8% of the ballots at the time the race was called by AP. McGreevey followed close behind with 25.5%.
Because neither candidate got 50% of the vote, New Jersey’s second-largest city will have to head to the polls again on Dec. 2 as the two candidates go head to head.
Longtime Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea and former Jersey City Board of Education President Mussab Ali finished third and fourth, respectively.
The hard-fought nonpartisan race, which saw seven candidates appear on the ballot, ultimately saw Solomon leading the pack.
The election saw McGreevey make a bold return to the politics after he was infamously outed as a “gay American” and resigned amid a 2004 sex scandal.
Incumbent Mayor Steven Fulop announced he would not seek reelection after he lost his bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination to Rep. Mikie Sherill. He’s since accepted a lucrative business gig across the river in Manhattan.
Jersey City, which has 307,000 residents, has seen massive development in the last decade, but also faces an affordability crisis — especially in the downtown area.
Other hopefuls on the ballot include former Jersey City BOE president Mussab Ali; Jersey City Council President Joyce Watterman; police officer Christina Freeman; and musician Kalki Jane-Rose.
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