1981 Jersey City mayoral election

The 1981 Jersey City mayoral election was held on June 16, 1981. Incumbent mayor Thomas F. X. Smith ran for governor of New Jersey instead of seeking a second consecutive term in office. In the open race to succeed him, city councilman Gerald McCann defeated state senator Wally Sheil.

A preliminary election was held on May 12. McCann and Sheil advanced over a large field of challengers, including councilman Anthony R. Cucci and police chief James Cowan, who joined with McCann in opposing Sheil. The Sheil campaign received a boost in the runoff campaign when Cucci switched sides, claiming that McCann had offered him a $50,000 bribe. However, Sheil suffered a major setback when he lost his June 2 primary election for the Senate to attorney Edward T. O'Connor Jr. Two weeks later, McCann easily won the election.

This was the first time in Jersey City history that the runoff election had attracted higher turnout than the preliminary election.