Jersey City activist Katie Brennan and Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla announced this morning that they will run together in the June 10th Democratic primary for state Assembly in the 32nd Legislative District.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“When Ravi and I testified against the ballot redesign bill, we made clear that bracketing puts candidates running on their own at a disadvantage,” Brennan said in a statement.
“While we continue to fight for truly fair ballots, we’re running on the same slate because the residents of Jersey City and Hoboken deserve legislators who will fight for them and aren’t beholden to any political machine. This puts us in the best position to win while maintaining our independence.”
Bhalla and Brennan testified against the ballot redesign bill last month and had called on Gov. Phil Murphy (D) to conditionally veto the measure, which didn’t end up happening as he signed the legislation into law on Thursday.
“Katie and I share similar visions for what Jersey City and Hoboken need in Trenton.We’re both committed to making government work for the people, and we each have our own record of getting things done inside and outside of government,” added Bhalla.
“By running together, we’re creating the strongest possible ticket to deliver on making housing more affordable, improving public transit, curbing climate change, funding our schools, and protecting our state against federal threats.”
This now makes six candidates running on three separate slates in LD-32: Assemblywoman Jessica Ramirez and Ward D Councilman Yousef Saleh are running on Mayor Steven Fulop’s ticket as part of his pursuit for governor.
Fulop said on Friday that he intends to take the ballot redesign bill, which does not allow candidates for different offices to use the same slogan, to court.
Additionally, Hoboken Public Library Executive Director Jennie Pu and Jersey City Director of Buildings and Street Maintenance Crystal Fonseca are running with the endorsement of the Hudson County Democratic Organization.
LD-32 includes Wards C, D, and E in Jersey City, as well as all of Hoboken.
How often do you get to make a partner decision and say, “Yeah, the criminal, that’s for me!”
Katie chose poorly.
Pu is a Jersey City resident. Where’s the equal representation for Hoboken residents in that ticket? We want someone from Hoboken who knows Hoboken