James Solomon made the following statement on his announcement as a candidate for mayor of Jersey City:
I was recently at an event, and I was asked to introduce myself to the group with my name, where I lived, and my biggest professional accomplishment.
I thought for a second and said: well, I am a politician from New Jersey and I’ve never been indicted.
I appreciate the laughs, and…Jersey City, the bar is too low, But we are here to change it.
So let me tell you how I, and we, got here and where Jersey City needs to go.
It started with Gaby. Job offer, moving to NJ, and I was at work sitting in a cubicle when Gaby called me – I ducked out, and she screamed “James, I know where we are going to live. I walk down the street and I see every type of person. I *bleeping* love Jersey City.” With that… expletive…I knew Jersey City would be our home.
As usual, she was right: Jersey City was home. But we didn’t know how blessed we were to have all of you as our neighbors until what was the most difficult, vulnerable time in my life – when I was diagnosed with cancer. Literally weeks after our wedding; when all that was on my mind was the possibilities of the future; life felt like it had stopped.
Gaby and I are lucky. I stand here, fully healthy, because of the support of my family; because of incredible medical care; and because of *this* community. I can’t tell you how many Jersey City originals stepped up to support us. Debbie & SharonDale at Gia Gelato with free meals; Aaron & Joel with neighborhood walks; during the toughest time in our life, you took care of us.
During chemo, I made myself a promise. If I achieved a full recovery, I wanted two things in life:
First, to start a family with Gaby: we have three incredible daughters – Camila, Corinne, and Noelle (but we promise, NOT another one during this campaign). OR EVER
The second was to give back to the community that had already given me so much. So I ran for council in 2017…But it wasn’t enough to just run for office. I had seen how special this community was, but also how its government let it down. I saw high-rises receive lengthy tax abatements without providing affordable housing or infrastructure. Public schools without safe drinking water. Politicians resigning in disgrace.
Now, I received the ultimate blessing, the ultimate second chance, a cure from cancer. I promised myself I would not squander that second chance by practicing New Jersey politics as usual…because Jersey City deserves a government as good as its people.
So I ran on a commitment to do right by all of you. First, a promise not to take campaign donations from Jersey City developers – because I am not for sale and neither is our city.
I made another promise, too: To remain politically independent from the Hudson County machine. Running was not about becoming a well-connected insider; it was about delivering for you.
There’s no greater illustration of that then ..one of my first moments in Jersey City politics was a long walk along the beach…at Caven Point. For those who don’t know, Caven Point is our sandy beach at the southern tip of Liberty State Park. It’s where I’ve taken my Hudson County Community College students to learn the effects of climate change firsthand. But I was on that beach that day to protect it from being bulldozed into a golf course because a billionaire believed he could get his way by using good old-fashioned New Jersey corruption to his advantage.
As we walked, one of the organizers noted to me that I was one of two elected officials there. He wryly said, “I guess the other politicians were afraid to show up.” To which I responded, “I guess I’ll piss off the billionaire and see where it gets me.” He had a stunned look and said, “I’ve never really heard a New Jersey politician say something like that before.”
I chuckled; I take pride that my mission is to partner with the grassroots of this special city to show you don’t need to choose between effective and ethical public servants.
In the seven years since you entrusted me with a seat on the council, we’ve proven that, with political will, we can make real change.
We protected Caven Point from that billionaire.
We beat big real estate money so that thousands of long-term residents will stay in their homes by passing a right to counsel – paid for by developers.
We defeated corporate lobbyists to protect our small businesses from predatory price gouging at the hands of big corporations.
We unrigged the primary ballot, partnering with Rep. Andy Kim and grassroots advocates, to restore the basic democratic principle that our leaders are chosen, not by the elites, but by the people.
These wins show what we can accomplish, with courage and community and will. But there is a heck of alot more we need to change.
Jersey City is at a critical moment in our history. The very things that make Jersey City special are at risk. In my classrooms at NJCU, Hudson County, and Saint Peter’s, I hear my students ask who does this city, and its government, serve?
Development is changing our city in ways people don’t feel they have a voice in.
Rising property taxes and rents are forcing lifelong residents into the impossible dilemma: do I stay and somehow manage or do I go and leave a community I deeply love?
Basic city services are at a breaking point – calls to 911 go unanswered, and trash litters our sidewalks.
There are fewer recreation and educational opportunities for young people today than 30 years ago – opportunities that provide kids with purpose, passion, and preparation for life.
These challenges are not a natural state of being – they are the direct result of a political system that puts the powerful before the people.
We need to change that system; we need a city that works for all. And that’s why I am here to announce that I am running to be the next Mayor of Jersey City!
Together, we can have a city where development serves us rather than developers, bringing affordable homes, public schools, and open space.
Where, when you call a government office, the speed of response is not determined by who you know or what campaign you may have supported.
Where your property taxes are stable.
We have a big challenge in front of us. We know this campaign will not be easy.
But there will be a clear choice for Jersey City. So I ask you, the voters, to answer the fundamental questions of this election:
Who can you trust…who can you trust to serve you, first and foremost?
Who has kept that trust and never let you down?
Who has the ideas for 2040, not 2004?
And who is running for you, not running to use your future to rewrite their personal history.
Jersey City deserves a fresh start– free from the past and with a vision for our future. Jersey City deserves a government as good as its people. I, alone, cannot deliver that, but together we can.
We can deliver a city:
Where developers pay what they owe and every resident can afford to stay.
Where the PATH does not stop in Hoboken on the weekends.
Where you can love who you love and be who you are, out and proudly.
Where everyone who uses our streets is safe – pedestrians, drivers, and cyclists.
Where we are proud to be America’s golden door.
Where we stand shoulder to shoulder with our brothers and sisters in labor.
Where we tackle, head on, the root causes of crime to ensure every single resident is safe in their home and on our streets.
Where our children attend the best public schools.
Where our city is united from the West Side to the Waterfront from Heights to the Hill.
All three of my girls were born just a few blocks south from here. Everyone in this room knows how your perspective on life changes on that day. There is only one thing that really matters: their future. Their safety, their health, their dreams. I’m running to be our mayor to deliver a city that does right by them; that does right by my students, and that does right by all of us.
Jersey City deserves to be the best version of itself. We can build it together.
So my ask tonight is simple: join me.
Let’s knock on doors.
Let’s make calls.
Talk to our neighbors.
And together, we can build a Jersey City government as good as its people. Thank you!