Jersey City's finance director, deputy mayor and digital director resign as Mayor Solomon shakes up City Hall

JERSEY CITY — Jersey City Finance Director Bill Viqueira, Deputy Mayor Keshav Poddar and Digital Director Megan Malloy have resigned, and Mayor James Solomon has accepted their resignations as he restructures his leadership team, the city announced Thursday.

The city tied the shake-up to two of Solomon’s priorities in a release posted Oct. 8 titled “Mayor Solomon Restructures Leadership Team to Deliver on His Agenda.” The first is city finances. The release says the mayor is committed to “not just stabilizing Jersey City’s finances but strengthening them” by finding new ways to bring in revenue “without negatively impacting” residents’ pockets. The second is housing. After the City Council recently approved the Canal Crossing project, the first piece of his “Building for Working Families” agenda, the release says Solomon “knows Jersey City must speed up the rate of affordable housing construction immediately.”

“With these priorities in mind, the Mayor has accepted the resignations,” the release says. It adds that all three “are committed to ensuring an orderly and seamless transition.”

Who fills in for now

• Finance: Kyle Greaves will serve as acting finance director.
• Press: Kimberly Wallace Scalcione will serve as acting press secretary.
• Housing: Annisia Cialone, the city’s director of housing and economic development, will continue leading the city’s housing efforts and advancing the “Building for Working Families” agenda.
• Search: The city will launch a search for its next finance director. The release says the administration wants “the right leader to continue strengthening the City’s finances, identifying new sources of revenue, and addressing outstanding financial and audit matters.”

The release does not give a reason for each official’s departure beyond the restructuring, and it does not name an acting deputy mayor. As of Thursday afternoon, neither the city’s X account nor the mayor’s had posted anything more about the changes.

What they said

“Jersey City is experiencing an affordability crisis which requires nothing short of excellence from my leadership team at City Hall,” Solomon said in the release. “One that is laser focused on ensuring our city finances stabilize, keeping the people of this city in their homes, and ensuring we are improving city services in every corner of this city. I appreciate the work Bill, Keshav, and Megan have done during their tenure and wish them well in their next chapter. We are now focused on a new vision and leadership needed for the work ahead.”

“It has been a privilege to serve Jersey City and to have worked alongside Mayor Solomon during an important time for the City,” Viqueira said. “I am confident the work underway will continue to create opportunities for Jersey City to grow while delivering for its residents.”

“Serving the people of Jersey City has been a privilege,” Poddar said. “I have appreciated working alongside so many dedicated public servants and being a part of the City’s work to build more affordable housing.”

“I’m thankful to Mayor Solomon for the opportunity to serve as Jersey City’s Digital Director,” Malloy said. “It’s been a privilege to uplift the stories of residents at a time when transparency and responsiveness is of the utmost importance. I am grateful for my time with the City and to have been a part of that work.”

People interested in jobs with the city can find openings at jerseycitynj.gov/jobs, the release says.

Related: Jersey City’s 2025 (Fulop-era) books show $94M deferred onto future taxpayers, audit finds

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Hudson TV asks: Do these City Hall resignations help Jersey City move faster on affordability, or do they create more disruption?
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Photo: Mayor James Solomon at Dickinson High School, May 30, 2026, by Matthewmurdock via Wikimedia Commons (CC0 public domain dedication). Graphic: Hudson TV.