Ambrossi preparing to drop Hudson county commissioner bid

Update — Ambrossi issued the following statement:  “Jersey City is my home, and it always will be. That is why this decision is not easy, I have chosen not to proceed with running for County Commissioner. Today, Jersey City is facing an austere financial crisis that threatens the public services that working families need. I don’t wish to divide the Democratic Party and I will always put Jersey City first. I look forward to continuing to serve my community in partnership with the Guy & Solomon Administrations.”

Patrick Ambrossi is expected to drop his bid for the Democratic nomination for Hudson County Commissioner in District 4 after a unity ticket backed by party leaders and a new wave of young, progressive elected officials included the two-term incumbent, Yraida Aponte-Lipski, the New Jersey Globe has learned.

Ambrossi, who declined comment, joined the race late last week after David Guirgis, who is allied with the Democratic Socialists of America, withdrew.  Guirgis had picked up the backing of three newly-elected Jersey City councilmembers: Eleana Little, Joel Brooks and Jake Ephros.

The filing deadline is 4 PM today, which positions Aponte-Lipski to run without opposition.

Aponte-Lipski nearly lost her primary for a second term in 2023 when Mamta Singh came within 138 votes of denying her renomination.  Singh was elected to an at-large seat on the Jersey City Council last year on a slate headed by now-Jersey City Mayor James Solomon,

Solomon headed a list of Hudson County Democrats endorsing Aponte-Lipski and eight others yesterday.

Also on the unity endorsement list: Hudson County Executive and Democratic County Chairman Craig Guy, Union City Mayor and State Sen. Brian P. Stack, State Sens. Raj Mukherji (D-Jersey City) and Angela McKnight (D-Jersey City), Assemblywoman Katie Brennan (D-Jersey City), Assemblyman Jerry Walker (D-Jersey City), Union County Clerk Junior Maldonado, and Hudson County Register of Deeds and Mortgages Jeffrey Dublin.

Ambrossi ran for the Jersey City Council in a 2020 special election after incumbent Michael Yun died of complications related to COVID-19.  He was defeated by Yousef Saleh, who was re-elected in 2021 and ran for the Assembly in 2025.

The son of immigrants, Ambrossi serves as the founder and President of the Leonard Gordon Park Conservancy, advocating for the revitalization, renovation, and ongoing maintenance of the park.  He wad an analyst for the Hudson County Division of Housing and Community Development.