Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla is running for re-election, and possibly for the first time in the mile-square city’s history, the mayor will be running unopposed. The November 2 election includes elections for other local and state offices, including Governor, State Senate, State Assembly, Hoboken City Council, and Hoboken Board of Education.
According to local news site Patch.com, an uncontested mayoral election is unprecedented in Hoboken politics. In past elections, as many as six candidates ran for Hoboken Mayor.
“I’m glad to share the news that I’m running for re-election as Hoboken Mayor,” Bhalla said, when he announced in June. “Nearly four years ago, Hoboken residents gave me the privilege of a lifetime, electing me as Mayor of our great city. Since then we’ve come together, friends and neighbors moving our city forward in the midst of a global pandemic, creating durable quality of life improvements, while also keeping Hoboken on a sound long-term fiscal path.”
Past candidates opted not to run for this year’s election for a variety of reasons. Mike DeFusco, who lost the 2017 Mayoral election by 484 votes, decided not to run for the city’s highest office, he said in an August blog post, citing “toxic” Hoboken politics and saying that he wanted to prioritize his mental health.
The race for Hoboken City Council is one of the major races happening in the mile-square city. Three of the nine seats on the council are up for grabs, and these three seats are at-large positions, meaning they are chosen by the entire city’s registered voters. By contrast, the next election for the other six seats on the council is in 2023, and each seat is decided by the city’s six respective wards.
The city council race is vital for the mayor’s success during his term. To push through an agenda, Bhalla needs a majority of the city council’s support to approve pricey agenda items. Some candidates are running on Mayor Bhalla’s slate and pledge to support the Mayor’s agenda, and others are looking to represent different interests.
The ten candidates for Hoboken City Council are (Candidate Name, Campaign Name) Councilmember Emily Jabbour, Ravi Bhalla for Mayor; Councilmember James Doyle, Ravi Bhalla for Mayor; Joe Quintero, Ravi Bhalla for Mayor; Cheryl Fallick, Independently Together; Sheila Brennan, Independently Together; Paul Presinzano, Independently Together; Manuel Rivera, Manny Rivera for Hoboken; Ian Rintel, TOO MANY POLITICIANS IN POLITICS; Patricia Waiters, Patricia Waiters for Real Constituent Services; and Cindy Wiegand, Your Friendly Neighborhood Councilwoman.
These elections determine several vital roles in local and state governments. The Hoboken Mayor has the power to appoint government officials, approve new rules and regulations for city departments, nominate people for municipal boards and judicial positions, initiate contracts, veto laws, and create a yearly budget. The Hoboken City Council has the power to create laws, approve the mayor’s contracts, approve budgets, and approve mayoral appointments.
The 2021 election is on Tuesday, November 2, and the last day to register to vote to participate in the election is Tuesday, October 12. In order to be eligible to vote, a person must be an American Citizen, be 18 years old on or before Nov. 2, and be a resident of New Jersey. According to the New Jersey State Department, college students have “the option to register from [a] college address or [a] parent’s address” to meet the residency requirement.
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