2025 is the year for New Jersey elections, both at the state and local levels. In Jersey City, the second largest city in the state, its mayor announced he was stepping down to run for governor, so the office is now open. James Solomon (he/him), a millennial current city councilman, is viewed as one of the most progressive candidates in the race. The Jersey City race can be seen as a smaller parallel of the mayoral race across the Hudson River in New York City: a progressive candidate (Solomon/Zohran Mamdani) running against a former state governor who resigned in disgrace (Jim McGreevey/Andrew Cuomo) looking to make a political comeback.

James, a cancer survivor, is a professor of public policy at New Jersey City University, a public university in Jersey City, and is the father of three girls.

Where are you based?
Jersey City, NJ

What is your position/what position are you running for?
I’m a current City Council member representing Ward E in Jersey City, and I’m running for Mayor.

How would you briefly summarize your platform?
Over the last few decades, luxury developers have transformed Jersey City from an industrial, working-class community into one of the country’s most expensive and most unequal. Through this transformation, economic inequality has skyrocketed. The next mayor of Jersey City will determine whether we stay a city that is welcoming of people from all backgrounds, or if we become a city that caters to the most privileged in society. As a father, cancer survivor, educator, and Councilmember, I’ve led the fight to keep longtime residents in their homes, protect small businesses, and strengthen democracy.

Now, at this pivotal crossroads, I am running for Mayor to stand up to powerful real estate developers and self-serving machine insiders. If elected mayor, I will:

1) Build more affordable housing so longtime residents aren’t pushed out of their neighborhoods, with genuinely affordable apartments with rents lower than $1,000, $1,500, and $2,000, and workforce housing for teachers, first responders, and healthcare workers.

2) Capping rent increases so that landlords can’t unfairly push out working class tenants.

3) Demand developers pay their fair share for better public schools, more transit options, and new open spaces - backed by public disclosure of donations and strict audits of tax breaks.

4) Maintain a laser focus on promoting economic development and recreational opportunities for neglected parts of the City, including the West Side and South Side of Jersey City.

5) Cracking down on insider politics that costs taxpayers money and hurts city services, particularly in the neighborhoods with disproportionately working class and minority communities.

What inspired you to run?
A few weeks after my wedding, I was diagnosed with lymphoma. Recovery was only possible because my neighbors looked out for me — walks in the park to keep my strength up, the occasional free cup of coffee at Gia’s. When I got better, I made myself two promises: First, that I would build a family with my wife, Gaby; and second, that I would give back to the community that had my back during my toughest time. Jersey City deserves a government as good as its people. It’s what fueled my first run for City Council, and it’s fueling my run for Mayor now.

What change are you hoping to bring to your district and country?
I want to make sure that our city government actually works for its people, not its most powerful political insiders and developers. For too long, our politics have been captured by machine interests and corporate developers, and it’s directly causing a higher cost of living even as city services plummet in quality and reliability. That’s what I call a corruption tax: paying more for worse stuff so other people get to profit. As Mayor, that culture ends with me.

How long have you been in office? What do you consider to be your major accomplishments so far?
After upsetting the political machine to win my Council seat in 2017, I’ve delivered real change—partnering with grassroots organizers to protect Liberty State Park from billionaire-backed development, passing a right-to-counsel bill paid for by developers to keep long-time residents in their homes, and partnering with statewide advocates to unrig our primary ballot alongside grassroots advocates (AKA abolishing the line).

What do you feel are the most important issues right now, why, and how do you plan to tackle them?
Affordability is the single biggest issue facing Jersey City residents right now — they’re getting squeezed on both ends by tax hikes and virtually no affordable housing options available. As Mayor, I have a four-point affordability agenda that will help lower the burden on working families:

1) Build more housing we can afford, with units that rent under $1,000 for working families and dedicated housing for frontline workers like teachers, police officers, firefighters, and healthcare workers.

2) Capping rent hikes by standing up to greedy developers and Wall Street,

3) Stabilizing property taxes by rooting out corruption and waste in our city government.

4) Creating 1000 youth jobs to invest in our young people’s brighter futures.

America is extremely divided these days. How would you hope to bridge that divide with your constituents to better unite Americans?
What people are looking for most is leaders they can trust and a government they can rely on. I don’t take money from developers, I don’t take money from corporate PACS, and the only ones I’m accountable to as a result are the people. I plan on using that to build trust with communities across the city who have felt neglected, including by hosting 100 town halls in my first year in office.

How do you see your unique identity and background to be an asset to you in office?
It would have been great to not have cancer – but surviving it made my convictions stronger. You don’t walk away from that without remembering the fear of running out of time. And what that did to me in turn was make the importance of fighting for my family, of fighting for my community, that much more urgent. And it makes me much more unwilling to compromise on my values for something as ephemeral as money or a political favor.

What is your motto in life?
“The designs of the universe are unknown to us; but we know that to think with lucidity and to act with fairness is to aid in those designs.” From A Prayer by Jorge Luis Borges.

Where can we find out more about you?
@solomonforjc on all social media handles, and solomonforjc.com.

Our Favorite Progressive Candidates in 2025 - James Solomon, Mayor of Jersey City, NJ