Election results were rolling in on the morning of Wednesday, November 6 from across the country as American voters cast their ballots for a vast array of offices at all levels of government. In Hoboken, residents weighed in on everything from the presidential race to a local referendum on rent control.
Capping a dramatic and tumultuous race, Donald Trump defeated Kamala Harris to be elected 47th President of the United States, sweeping the nation’s swing states and achieving an unexpectedly comfortable margin of victory. This makes Trump the first person since Grover Cleveland in 1892 to be elected to a nonconsecutive presidential term, and marks an unprecedented comeback for the businessman and celebrity-turned politician. Also on the ticket is JD Vance, who will become the 50th Vice President of the United States and, at 40 years old, one of its youngest ever.
Although Vice President Harris had not conceded the race as of Wednesday morning, Trump was projected to win both the Electoral College and the national popular vote by the Associated Press and other major news organizations. Harris won the New Jersey vote by a margin of 51.2% to Trump’s 46.9%.
In New Jersey, Democratic nominee Andy Kim easily defeated Republican Curtis Bashaw for the Senate seat held by scandal-ridden Bob Menendez. Kim, who will be the first Korean-American in the Senate, ran in the Democratic primary on a platform of restoring integrity to the office after Menendez, also a Democrat, was found guilty on all counts in a high-profile corruption trial.
A proposed amendment to Hoboken’s Rent Control Ordinance was rejected by almost a 3:1 margin. The amendment, which had been supported by local landlord groups and added to the ballot after a successful petition earlier this year, was opposed by tenant groups, who celebrated the landslide results Wednesday morning. The proposal would have loosened current restrictions to allow landlords to raise rent when a tenant moves out. According to Caren Lissner, a reporter for Patch, a similar effort on the part of landlords also failed more than a decade ago.
Hoboken United Tenants said the result was a victory of compassion, extolling that “Hoboken said we want to take care of our neighbors.” Conversely, the Mile Square Taxpayers’ Association, which had spearheaded the proposal, said that it had won in policy forums but couldn’t overcome the Mayor’s portrayal of the effort as “simply landlord friendly.”
In other local races, Tilo Rivas (D) defeated Julianna Lombard (R) for the office of Hudson County Surrogate, and the Hoboken Board of Education will include Malani Cadematori, Ailene McGuirk, Thomas Kluepfel.
