JERSEY CITY – Does the road to City Hall in this Democratic bastion run through Republican Ocean County?

Proving once again that oddities are the norm in politics, mayoral candidate Jim McGreevey, the one-time Democratic governor, is scheduled to appear at a fundraiser Wednesday night co-hosted by George Gilmore, the GOP chair in Ocean County.  Tickets cost $1,000 per person.

Beyond being a Republican chair, Gilmore was convicted of tax evasion in 2019, but ultimately pardoned by then-President Trump.

The invite for the bash at the B2 Bistro in Bayville notes that McGreevey is running in a “non-partisan” Jersey City mayoral election. Is that designed to make McGreevey’s presence at a Republican-led event seem more palatable?

If so, it does not seem to be working.

Talk about low hanging fruit for some of McGreevey’s mayoral opponents.

The campaign of Bill O’Dea weighed in with a release from Jeff Dublin, the Hudson County register.

“The fact that McGreevey has the gall to put this convicted crooked politician’s name on a formal printed invitation shows that he has no shame. It speaks volumes about his arrogance and lack of integrity,” says Dublin. “We can’t let the most corrupt governor in N.J. history become the most corrupt mayor. That is not going to happen.”

We also heard from the campaign of James Solomon.

Campaign Manager Stuart Thomas said, “Jim McGreevey is raising money from an unrepentant

Trump-pardoned MAGA acolyte who is determined to beat Kamala Harris and elect a Republican Governor in 2025. Jim McGreevey’s willingness to take money from anyone – but especially from a MAGA party boss – says loudly and clearly that his priority is not changing Jersey City; it’s doing the same old corrupt politics people are sick of. There is only one candidate in his race with the backbone to stand up to developers and the machine and that’s James Solomon.”

Former JC School Board President Mussab Ali called on McGreevey to cancel his fundraiser. “It’s

outrageous that Jim McGreevey is raising money with GOP party leaders,” Ali said in a statement. “It’s hard to believe that he has Jersey City’s best interests at heart while accepting donations from a close ally of Donald Trump. He should return the money immediately and cancel the fundraiser — otherwise, how can the voters of Jersey City trust anything he says?”

McGreevey has not yet responded to phone and email messages.

But he was recently quoted about the Gilmore fundraiser in the Hudson County View, a local online news site.

McGreevey said he’s known Gilmore for more than 20 years, adding:

“I’ve just found that my political philosophy and progressive values, in my political life and my work as a private citizen, welcomes the support of individuals throughout the political spectrum, while respecting and honoring those values which are central to my core.”