Wasting no time following his overwhelming victory, Mayor-Elect James Solomon announced his transition leadership team today. The dynamic team will support Mayor-Elect Solomon ahead of his swearing in on January 15th. Collectively, they bring decades of city government and public service experience, which will ensure that Mayor-Elect Solmon can deliver an affordable Jersey City.

Co-Chairs: County Commissioner Bill O'Dea; Jim Johnson, COO, Trinity Church; and Hetty Rosenstein, Labor Activist.

Executive Director: Keshav Poddar

Political Director: Stuart Thomas, Campaign Manager, James Solomon for Jersey City.

Transition Counsel: Scott D. Salmon, Esq.

Mayor-Elect James Solomon said: “I am honored to announce my transition leadership team, a diverse and experienced group of dedicated individuals ready to tackle the pressing challenges facing Jersey City. From day one, we will build a City Hall that not only responds to our residents' needs but anticipates them – and will take the affordability crisis head on. Our commitment is to create a government that is accessible, transparent, and proactive, ensuring that every voice is heard. I believe that with this team by my side, we can implement innovative solutions that will make Jersey City affordable and pave the way for a brighter future for our community.”

Keshav Poddar said: “As the Executive Director for the transition team, I am excited to help shape a City Hall that will meet Jersey City’s challenges head-on. From Day One, we will focus on implementing actionable strategies that promote affordability, growth, and enhance the quality of life for all Jersey City residents. Our commitment is to build an inclusive City Hall that acts decisively and effectively, ensuring no one is left behind.”

ABOUT THE TRANSITION LEADERSHIP TEAM

About Bill O’Dea

As Executive Director of the Elizabeth Development Company, he has responsibility over all EDC redevelopment activities and has worked closely with all federal, state, local, and private entities participating in redevelopment for the deployment of capital into disadvantaged neighborhoods like the redevelopment of the Elizabethport Revitalization Project. Mr. O’Dea has assisted in securing funding for various projects throughout the city and other municipalities. He also serves as the liaison between the City of Elizabeth and the PA of NY/NJ as it relates to their development projects. In this role he is working to ensure that a portion of the work goes to local MWBEs. His responsibilities related to the deployment of capital include administering funding for economic and community development projects.

In recent years he has worked to develop a workforce development division at EDC that assists individuals in accessing employment in the construction trade unions, CDL Drivers and Hospitality Field. EDC administers several small business grant and loan programs and during the COVID pandemic, EDC provided grants/loans to 287 local businesses enabling them to keep their doors open. In partnership with Hudson County Building Trades, Bill created Project IMPACT in 2015 to help veterans, women, and minorities to gain access to construction union apprenticeships. To date more than 250 recruits have become apprentices.

Mr. O’Dea is also involved in several civic activities and serves on the Board of numerous non-profit organizations. His professional and personal experience gives Mr. O’Dea an understanding of the relationship between urban development and civic responsibility of decision makers.

Now serving his tenth term, County Commissioner O’Dea is Chairman of the Public Resources Committee, and the Taskforce on the Homeless. Bill has served as Chairman of the Parks and Public Resources Committee for twenty-four years during which over $150 million has been allocated for improvements to County Parks.

About Jim Johnson

For nearly four decades, Jim Johnson has served in prominent Federal, State and municipal government roles driving performance and ensuring equity. He is currently the Vice Chair of the Regional Plan Association of NY, NJ and Connecticut. He was the Corporation Counsel for NYC during the height of the pandemic and distinguished himself as a calm, innovative crisis manager. As Special Counsel to Governor Murphy, he drafted and worked to implement the Atlantic City social and economic development plan, “Atlantic City: Building A Foundation for a Shared Prosperity.” That report remains a foundational blueprint for progress. For more than five years he served as a court appointed monitor to address Westchester County’s need for affordable housing and before that chaired NJ’s Advisory Committee on Police Standards. Prior to that he had a number of senior positions in the federal government, notably serving as Under Secretary of the U.S. Treasury and Deputy Chief of the Criminal Division in the US Attorney’s office for the Southern District of NY.

Johnson was a candidate in the 2017 Democratic primary for Governor of the State of NJ. He currently serves as Chief Operating Officer of Trinity Church in New York City.

About Hetty Rosenstein

Hetty Rosenstein has been an activist for her entire life, attending civil rights and anti-war demonstrations before she was 12, identifying as a part of the women's liberation movement at 15, and dedicating her career to the workers' rights movement and the struggle for social, economic and racial justice.  She organized her workplace with CWA and spent more than forty years working in the labor movement.   As a union leader, Rosenstein focused on building and supporting an active workplace shop steward system, organizing the unorganized, opposing and preventing privatization, maintaining health benefits for active and retired workers, and relentlessly pursuing adequate funding for the public pension system that covers over 800,000 New Jersey workers.  She is one of a handful of leaders in nearly every progressive struggle in New Jersey and sometimes nationally, including fighting for accessible healthcare, progressive taxes, gun violence prevention, law enforcement accountability, opposing corruption and fighting to maintain democracy.  After Donald Trump was elected, Rosenstein refocused her efforts to resisting the Muslim ban, family separation, attacks on the Affordable Care Act, the increase in racial hatred and bigotry, and the rising spectrum of fascism.  Since leaving her employment with CWA, Rosenstein has redoubled her efforts to mentor and coach the next generation of leaders, and to turn out the historic democratic coalition of labor, progressive, immigrant and people of color in elections to create an economy and government for all of us.

About Keshav Poddar

Keshav Poddar was the Policy Director for Mayor-Elect Solomon’s campaign, and is an attorney with the New Jersey office of the Windels Marx law firm, specializing in community economic development projects and the construction of affordable housing. Before entering private practice, Keshav held various positions in state and federal government. Most recently, he served as an advisor on economic policy at the Biden-Harris White House, including as an official at the United States National Security Council, and on the staff of Vice President Kamala Harris. He was also an Economic Policy Manager for the Harris for President campaign. Prior to serving in the federal government, Keshav was Counsel to former New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal. There, he worked on New Jersey’s COVID-19 response, as well as consumer protection, criminal justice reform, and opioids enforcement. Keshav is a graduate of Yale Law School, and also holds a B.A. in Government from Dartmouth College. He is a New Jersey native and lives in Jersey City.

About Stuart Thomas

Stuart Thomas is a seasoned campaign strategist who served as Campaign Manager for Mayor-Elect James Solomon’s historic mayoral campaign. As Solomon’s top political strategist, Thomas engineered an unprecedented upset that stunned the Jersey City political establishment, leading James and the entire Team Solomon slate to a decisive victory in the December 2 municipal runoff election. He previously managed Solomon’s successful 2021 Ward E City Council race and former North Carolina Congresswoman Kathy Manning’s 2022 reelection campaign, building a record of winning in high-pressure, high-turnout contests. Thomas’s experience spans the local, state, and federal levels, including strategic consulting for campaigns and PACs in New Jersey, North Carolina, Georgia, and Iowa, cementing his reputation as a trusted operative in tough races and complex political environments.

About Scott Salmon

Scott Salmon is a Shareholder and Co-Managing Partner of Jardim Meisner Salmon Sprague & Susser, P.C. He served as the campaign counsel for Mayor-Elect Solomon’s campaign. Scott primarily practices municipal law and currently represents Berkeley Heights, Cranford, Fanwood, Englewood Cliffs, Hillside, Lambertville, Newark, Paterson, Roselle Park, Teaneck, Trenton, and Westfield, among many others. He has a wide range of experience, including as a municipal attorney, employment and labor law, election law, land use/redevelopment law, and handling outside litigation. Scott is an accomplished litigator who is not afraid to take cases to trial, with multiple jury verdicts under his belt. He is also a practiced appellate attorney with half a dozen published decisions, both from the New Jersey Appellate Division and Third Circuit Court of Appeals and has argued in front of the New Jersey Supreme Court. Scott has also represented multiple municipalities and counties in the decennial redistricting process. He has been designated a Rising Star by New Jersey Super Lawyers® every year since 2020 and is currently the Co-Chair of the New Jersey State Bar Association’s Election Law Committee. Scott is a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College and Washington & Lee University School of Law.

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