Ravi Bhalla, who has served as Mayor of Hoboken since 2018, has announced that he is running for Congress. Who else is running to represent New Jersey’s eighth congressional district, and what are Bhalla’s chances of winning?
Ravi Bhalla was born and raised in New Jersey and has been a resident of Hoboken for 22 years. He served eight years on the Hoboken city council before being elected mayor in November of 2017. Since then, he has made policies to improve the city of Hoboken by addressing problems revolving around climate and municipal taxes. For instance, in 2019, he signed the City’s Climate Action Plan, whose initiatives included introducing a composting dropoff, eliminating plastic bags and styrofoam, and introducing a fully recyclable source of electricity for Hoboken’s municipal buildings. The improvements he made to the city earned him the respect of the residents of Hoboken and led to his reelection in 2021. Bhalla hopes to take similar ideas to a larger scale as he expands his scope by campaigning for the representative of New Jersey’s eighth congressional district in Congress.
Bhalla will challenge the current district representative, Robert Mendez Jr. The candidates, both Democrats, have secured endorsements from Congress leaders and activists alike.
As reported by Joey Fox, Mendez has the support of council members Ruben Ramos and Tiffanie Fisher. “Fisher is a former Hoboken Democratic chairwoman who has become Bhalla’s most committed critic on the city council.” Fisher specifically stated that her endorsement of the current representative was an easy decision to make because of his “accessibility and willingness to engage in open dialogue, always seeking ways to help residents of Hoboken.” She stated that Menendez embodied democratic values in his actions as a representative and the work he has done in Congress. This includes “serving constituents, and securing federal resources for our district,” as reported by Fox.
Bhalla has the support of Councilman Joe Quintero, who previously worked with him during his time as mayor and can attest to his effectiveness and care for the city. Quintero said, “In Congress, we can count on Ravi to stand up for women’s reproductive rights, work to protect and strengthen our democracy, and to speak out against the rising tide of hatred and racism that is plaguing our nation,” as reported by Fox. Bhalla is the son of Sikh Indian immigrants. Racism and injustice are things he personally experienced during his time as mayor and serve as some of the main issues he wishes to tackle should he be awarded a seat in the district.
The primary election for district representatives will happen in June of this year. Since the eighth district is heavily Democratic, the winner of this primary election is projected to win the following election in November, reports Nikita Biryukov.
Both candidates have their own plans to accomplish similar goals when helping the city of Hoboken. However, both have also seen their share of controversy surrounding their pasts and endorsements. Sen. Robert Menendez Sr. had come under fire last year for federal corruption charges, which luckily has not stood in the way of his son getting endorsements from Congress for his run. Bhalla had received endorsements from David Ocampo Grajales, who has repeatedly stood for the defunding of police. Members of Congress have seen this idea as being not only dangerous to the community but also insulting to those who work hard to protect it. Moreover, Menendez called out Bhalla in December 2023, stating that the only reason Bhalla is starting a campaign against him now after endorsing Menendez’s run in 2022 is that “after losing control of the city council, he sees no political future for himself in Hoboken,” as reported by Biryukov. In addition, Bhalla called out both Menendez and his father, stating that they enforced policies that served only themselves and not the people they were appointed to serve.
It is not clear at this moment who the victor of this race will be, as both members care deeply for this city and fight hard to promote their own agendas for improving it. New Jersey members living in District 8 are encouraged to vote in this election and make their voices heard.
