Hoboken 3rd Ward Councilman Mike Russo leads all potential mayoral candidates in fundraising by a wide margin right now, with $220,404.35 cash on hand, his April 16th report filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJ ELEC) says.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Russo, the longest tenured Mile Square City councilman who was first elected in 2003, ended 2023 with $80,916.85 in his campaign war chest and had a big first quarter of 2024, raising $156,770 and spending only $17,282.50, his campaign finance report shows.
Ironstate Human Resources Director Keisa Agnija contributed $5,200, as did Jennifer Barry and Barry Jackson, of the Kushner Real Estate Group, and Cassesa Management, Inc., a local property management company based out of 51 Newark St.
Liberty House restaurant owner Frank Cretella chipped in $1,500, while former 1st Ward Councilwoman Theresa Castellano donated $1,000, as did city vendor Fairview Insurance. The other city insurance vendor, The Alamo Insurance group, contributed $2,600.
Beyond that, former West New York Mayor Felix Roque wrote a check for $500, as did Hoboken Board of Education Trustee Chetali Khanna and ex-Hoboken Mayor Dave Roberts.
Additionally, Ed Reep, who got crushed by Russo in November’s 3rd Ward council race, gave $300.
The Hoboken Firefighters IAFF Local Fundraiser account gave $600, with Local 1076 added another $300. Similarly, the Hoboken Police Department’s Civic Association donated $500, while the Police Superior Officers Association donated $1,200.
Furthermore, Assemblyman John Allen gave $2,500, while his business partner, Pat Light, the founder and CEO of The Light Group, got involved at $5,000 and former Union City Mayor Rudy Garcia contributed $3,500.
As far as expenses go, Russo paid $5,670 to the Monroe Investment Group for his office space, which includes rent, utilities, internet, and cable, as well as paying San Francisco-based Caleb McDermott $4,000 for political consulting.
While no one has declared for the non-partisan November 3rd, 2025 Mile Square City mayoral race yet, Russo is on the short list of contenders.
That list also includes 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher, 4th Ward Councilman Ruben Ramos, and Councilwoman-at-Large Emily Jabbour.
Fisher has not filed a first quarter report with ELEC yet, while Ramos reports $25,121.97 cash on hand, compared to $29,889.64 for Jabbour.
Mayor Ravi Bhalla is currently seeking the Democratic nomination for Congress in the 8th District, raising roughly $1.6 million to date, and has not publicly given any indication of what he’ll do if he is unsuccessful in the June 4th primary.
His April 15th ELEC report show $49,468.50, with all fundraising efforts being directed to his congressional race in recent memory.