Hoboken 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher blamed Mayor Ravi Bhalla’s campaign for the 2017 “terrorism” flyer that some felt was the difference maker in his historic win, to which he responded that “it’s a disgrace” she could make such accusations.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Like so many others, I believe Ravi and his campaign team fabricated the 2017 racially charged flyer that made it look like he was being discriminated against in the 2017 mayoral race, falsely attributing it to rival mayoral candidate Councilman Michael DeFusco, just to gain an electoral advantage,” Fisher wrote in an email blast early Friday morning.
“A short time after that election, several people confirmed via those close to his campaign what we all suspected at the time – that it was a calculated move to manipulate public sentiment. And it worked. The incident gained widespread attention and sympathy, and seemingly was decisive in what was a close mayoral race.”
The flier, which gained national media attention, hit the streets just four days before the 2017 mayoral contest and featured a picture of Bhalla that said “Don’t let TERRORISM take over our town!” with a paid for line from then-1st Ward Councilman Mike DeFusco’s mayoral campaign.
All four major candidates in the mayoral contest, Bhalla, DeFusco, Council President Jen Giattino, and Freeholder Anthony Romano (D-5), denounced the flyer, with no one taking any responsibility for it.
Fisher said she was compelled to bring this subject to light again since Bhalla mentioned the flier in his 8th District congressional campaign launch video.
She also noted she wrote a letter to the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office and Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office in June 2021 calling for further investigations into the matter.
This came about three months after the city council approved a resolution asking for similar actions from state and county law enforcement.
Neither the AG’s office or HCPO replied to an email seeking comment, though law enforcement agencies almost never confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.
To date, no one has ben charged with a crime in relation to the racist flyer, with the Hoboken Police Department leading a probe that included assistance from the FBI and U.S. Secret Service.
On Friday evening right after participating in an event with U.S. Rep. Andy Kim (D-3), a Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, in Downtown Jersey City, Bhalla denounced Fisher’s remarks in a short interview with HCV.
“Completely despicable, it does not behold the office that she represents. I’m a father, that day that we received the flier was my 10-year-old daughter’s first experience with racism,” he began.
“If she thinks that was anyone from me or my family behind that, she doesn’t who I am, she doesn’t know my DNA, she doesn’t know the blood that runs through my veins: that is a depraved mind that would do something like that and it’s completely despicable for Councilwoman Fisher to even insinuate that would come from … my campaign or me, it’s a disgrace.”
Bhalla, the first Sikh mayor in New Jersey, received documented death threats that included racist language in 2018 and 2022, respectively.
Additionally, Councilwoman-at-Large Emily Jabbour and Councilman-at-Large Jim Doyle, who successfully ran with Bhalla in 2017, also came out against Fisher’s remarks.
“I am disappointed – but not surprised – to see the lengths to which Councilmember Fisher will go in order to distract people from the progress the city of Hoboken has made under Mayor Bhalla’s leadership. This repackaging of the same allegations that Councilmember Fisher has repeatedly hurled without merit is clearly the latest in her anti-Ravi agenda,” said Jabbour.
“I don’t know if Tiffanie’s transparent mayoral aspirations are clouding her already biased judgment on the topic, but the substance of her manifesto reveals a genuinely disturbing mindset,” noted Doyle.
Fisher said today that she stands by everything she wrote, calling it a “she said, he said’ situation, claiming state and federal officials are still looking into it. She also indicated she doesn’t believe Jabbour or Doyle knew anything about the flier before it hit the streets.
DeFusco, who decided not to seek a third term on the council in November and lost to Bhalla by 484 votes in 2017, weighed in after receiving an inquiry from HCV.
“While I cannot tell you who orchestrated it, it’s apparent that the flier was distributed to benefit the Bhalla campaign. A week before Election Day, Operating Engineers 825, a union backing then-Councilman Bhalla, showed me leading by 1 percent. Being the front-runner often means becoming the target, a reality I faced firsthand,” he recalled.
“Within minutes of discovering the flier’s distribution, I was the 1st to report it to the police. However, the Hoboken police’s response took over an hour, & the case wasn’t transferred to the HCPO until after Election Day. Such delays raise serious concerns about the fairness of the investigation. Although I remain hopeful that law enforcement will eventually resolve this matter, the harm inflicted on me, my family, and my vision for Hoboken is irreversible.”
After that statement was posted on social media, Stan Grossbard, the husband of former Mayor Dawn Zimmer – who backed Bhalla in 2017 instead of seeking a third term – replied that while he disagreed that DeFusco was the frontrunner, it was indeed viewed as a two-man race from the Bhalla camp’s perspective.
“Being up in 1 poll by 1% with a 4% margin of error does not remotely make one a frontrunner. That’s narcissistic nonsense. But it’s undeniably true that the Bhalla campaign at that point thought it was in an extremely tight two person race with Councilman DeFusco.”
He later wrote that “I don’t think the flier made much difference,” further stating that he believes Zimmer’s support is what put Bhalla over the top when it was all said and done.
Editor’s note: This story was updated with comments from Councilman-at-Large Jim Doyle and Councilwoman-at-Large Emily Jabbour.