Because Hoboken’s recent nonpartisan general election ended without any candidate receiving a majority of votes (typically 51%), the city held a runoff election. The two candidates with the most votes, Emily Jabbour and Michael Russo, faced off on December 2. The election ended with Jabbour elected as Hoboken’s new mayor.
For the previous two mayoral terms, Hoboken’s current mayor, Ravi Bhalla, ran unopposed, which was seen as unusual. In comparison, this year, six candidates ran for the mayoral elections, similar to the 1993 and 2005 elections, which had at least five candidates with runoffs happening. A runoff election is a second election and serves as a tiebreaker to determine the clear majority.
During Hoboken’s nonpartisan general election, Jabbour had 27% of the votes while Russo had 24%. When the runoff votes were counted at 11:13 p.m., Jabbour won by 853 votes, with 6,407 compared to Russo’s 5,554 (53.6% to 46.4%). In a Facebook post, Jabbour noted that she was grateful and she will “continue building a Hoboken that is stronger, fairer, and ready for the future.” Meanwhile, Russo congratulated Jabbour on her win and stated that “Team Russo’s vision remains strong.” Bhalla, who opted out of seeking a third term and instead won a seat in the state Assembly, also congratulated Jabbour and looked forward to supporting a smooth transition.
Jabbour was a Hoboken resident for 17 years and served as a Councilwoman for eight years in the City Council. In an interview with the Hoboken Girl, she said her top three priorities were public safety, quality of life issues, and the responsiveness of City Hall. Jabbour and her administration will be sworn in on January 15.
As for Hoboken’s neighbor city, Jersey City’s runoff election between James Solomon and Jim McGreevey ended with Solomon as mayor. Similar to Hoboken’s election, with seven mayoral candidates, no one candidate received the majority vote. In the nonpartisan general election, Solomon received 17,200 votes or 29.02% of the vote, while McGreevey had 15,402 votes or 25.38% of the vote. However, during the runoffs, with more than 95% of the votes tallied, Solomon received 24,489 votes while McGreevey obtained 11,463 (68.1% to 31.9%). Jersey City’s current mayor, Steven Fulop, didn’t seek a fourth term and lost in the Democratic primary for governor. Following the election, Solomon responded that he will tackle Jersey City’s challenges and represent its citizens. McGreevey also congratulated Solomon and proclaimed that his focus would return to the New Jersey Reentry Corporation.
In an interview with Slice of Culture, the two mayors-elect expressed their feelings when the results were announced. “The moment the results came in, I felt a mix of gratitude, humility, and determination,” Solomon said. “Knowing that the residents of Jersey City placed their trust in me is an incredible honor.” Meanwhile, Jabbour added, “When the results were confirmed on Tuesday, I actually started crying! It was a mix of emotions and a sense of fatigue coming together after having announced my campaign in January. Then I got super excited and hugged everyone around me!” She encourages residents to reach out with ideas.
