Hoboken 5th Ward Councilman Phil Cohen has announced his re-election bid, seeking a second term next November after a recall effort fizzled out.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Working closely with Mayor Bhalla, I have successfully helped lead the fight on the City Council to move forward critical quality-of-life projects,” Cohen began in a statement.
“Including the construction of the Northwest Resiliency Park, defending our waterfront at Union Dry Dock, bringing CitiBikes to Hoboken, and major infrastructure upgrades, such as Vision Zero improvements and Rebuild By Design resiliency infrastructure.”
He continued that during his first term, he has conducted more than 65 community events and published a bi-monthly newsletter sent to constituents via email.
“No issue has been too large or small to tackle for my constituents — everything from filling potholes and fixing stop signs, to fighting for The Rivington’s residents to roll back unconscionable rent increases,” Cohen further stated.
“I am running for re-election, so I can continue the work of improving all Hoboken residents’ quality of life and keeping our city on a sound long-term fiscal path.”
He also announced that he will formally kickoff his re-election campaign on December 13th at the Pilsener Haus & Biergarten, located at 1422 Grand St., at 6 p.m.
In May, three Hoboken residents filed a notice of intention to recall Cohen, as HCV first reported, but the effort never got much traction and no signatures were submitted to the city clerk’s office as of this afternoon – the filing deadline.
With his predecessor Peter Cunningham retiring after three terms in 2019, Cohen ran on Bhalla’s ticket that year and bested Tim Crowell and Nicola Maganuco.
In the same month that the recall effort came to light, Bhalla wrote it off as “a political stunt” and “a joke.”
The non-partisan city council elections for all six ward seats will be held on November 7th, 2023, with Cohen being the second to state out that he’s running again – following remarks from 1st Ward Councilman Mike DeFusco last month.