When Ward E Councilman James Solomon formally jumps into the Jersey City Mayoral race tomorrow, he will shake up the 2025 citywide contest.

As an elected official, Solomon has bucked the political establishment on key occasions and will run with a dedicated base of support out of the city’s politically active – and financially well-connected – downtown area.

It’s the same general neighborhood where sitting Mayor Steven Fulop built his citywide empire.

Riding some larger scale momentum off his early and avid support for U.S. Senate candidate Andy Kim, Solomon as a mayoral candidate will make an already interesting contest even more interesting.

For a few months now, former Governor James McGreevey and Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea have waged a competitive contest, as each tries to smother the other in time to unify a portion of the city to square up against Solomon. Also in the contest, Council President Joyce Watterman and former Jersey City School Board President Mussab Ali have an early start and, in the case of Watterman, a dedicated power projection platform.