A super PAC backing Hudson County Commissioner Bill O'Dea (D-2) for Jersey City mayor has been unloading on Ward E Councilman James Solomon and former Gov. Jim McGreevey, his two main competitors, in the waning days of the race.

By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Social Progress in Union for Economic Growth has been in the mailboxes of Jersey City voters aggressively, as well as on social media and text messages, in the past couple of weeks, as the non-partisan November 4th contest hits a crescendo.
"Jersey City doesn't need more speeches, it needs action: Real plans for real delivery, because if promises alone built homes, we'd all have a place to live right now," one commercial says about Solomon, emphasizing that no affordable units have been built during his eight-year tenure on the council.
McGreevey has gotten the worst of it thus far though, with a fake newspaper called "Jersey City Today" detailing several of his controversies over the years, with a more conventional mailer calling him "everything you dislike about politics wrapped up in one person."
The independent expenditure reported raising $290,250 for this cycle, according to their
October 24th report filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJ ELEC).
All of their donations are from either developers or unions, with the biggest contributor by far being IBEW Local Union 164, who gave a massive $195,000 from their committee on political education (COPE) fund.
IBEW Local Union 164’s PAC previously donated $17,300 to O’Dea, as
only HCV reported, and also gave $75,000 to the Social Progress in Union for Economic Growth last month.
Other big donors include the Genna Corp., who lists a Jersey City address that's a UPS store, gave $50,000, and famous restauranteur and wine critic Victor Rallo donated $25,000.
Additionally, they spent $33,095 on Jersey City's Rust Films LLC for media/internet advertising to benefit O'Dea, with another $54,000 paid to Elizabeth-based Strategic Decisions Consulting for media consulting and internet advertising.
New York-based Tri-Star Offset Corp. was compensated $11,985 for media production, Brooklyn's Star Direct received $19,530.11 for printing and postage for direct mail, and Cedar Groves' LED on Wheels was paid $24,750 for billboards and lawn signs.
Every single one of these expenses was made to benefit O'Dea's campaign, campaign finance records show.
Trina Estelle is listed as the campaign treasurer for Social Progress in Union for Economic Growth, but she does not provide any phone number or email to reach her at, ELEC filings show.
"Now, we also know more about just who is backing Bill’s attacks – developers and real estate ... Putting the pieces together, it’s clear: big developers and real estate want Bill O’Dea because they know he will do their bidding," Solomon's mayoral campaign said in a statement Friday.
McGreevey and his team did not immediately return an email seeking comment on Monday.
A
poll commissioned by O'Dea released last week shows a three-way statistical dead heat between him, Solomon, and McGreevey, while a poll released by Solomon on Friday shows that he he is winning a close race and O'Dea missing the runoff, as
HCV first reported.
Hudson County View
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