The Hoboken 6th Ward council race is still a three-way dance after Lauren Myers survived petition challenges from both of her opponents.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
Myers, a litigation attorney running with the support of Mayor Ravi Bhalla, did not announce her candidacy until about an hour before the filing deadline on Thursday after picking up petitions the day prior.
Myers submitted 121 signed petitions of nomination on Thursday and 68 were required in the 6th Ward, as HCV previously reported.
Councilwoman Jen Giattino, the incumbent, and fellow challenger Ian Rintel both alleged that Myers had petitions signed electronically, which the Hudson County Clerk’s Office has not allowed since Gov. Phil Murphy (D) lifted the state of emergency related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There are numerous issues: There is a docusigned petition submitted and accepted.
There are two people who signed four petitions for her (two per person). A number of petitions are obvious photocopies where the signature was not a real ink signature,” Rintel told HCV today.
“There are printed petitions that are not obvious but the signature again is not a real ink signature: these are hard to discern. Most troubling is that there is proof that voters signed a petition without any candidate name. They were asked to do so for whoever the future Team Bhalla candidate might be. It’s a longshot but I’m asking any resident who signed a petition for ‘The Mayor’s Future Candidate’ to come forward and give details.”
Giattino echoed a similar sentiment, adding that the rules are the rules and no one should receive exceptions.
“No one is above the law. Petitions cannot be signed electronically, they must be wet signatures and after speaking with several petition signers I learned they signed electronically which showed there was a pattern of impropriety. This is not about me, it is about election integrity,” she stated.
Rob Horowitz, a spokesman for the Myers campaign, said that her opponents were only challenging her petitions because they are scared of having to face her in the non-partisan November 7th elections.
“Lauren Myers’ two opponents are so threatened by her entrance into the race that they are baselessly attempting to keep her off the ballot, throwing a bunch of charges against the wall in the vain hope that anything sticks,” he stated.
“We are confident that Lauren has more than enough signatures to qualify for the ballot and are disappointed that instead of engaging in a substantive debate on the issues facing Hoboken, her opponents are desperately attempting to short-circuit one. We look forward to a campaign where Lauren’s new energy and ideas will serve as a potent contrast with the slash and burn, business as usual politics of Jen Giattino and Ian Rintel.”
Rintel claimed that Myers remains on the ballot only because the clerk’s office refused to investigate the petitions specified.
Giattino is seeking her fourth term this fall, a relatively rare political feat in the Mile Square City, while Rintel is trying again after an unsuccessful bid for council-at-large in November 2021, when he survived a challenge of his petitions.
As for Myers, she is also a Hoboken Democratic Committee member and president of the condo association at 830 Park Ave.
Somewhat ironic, she resembles a rat. So she’s perfect for Ravi.
Wonder how many illicit electronic signatures Vijay collected?
I’m guessing an a$$ cause only a misogynistic a$$ would attack a female candidate’s looks. I know, you like dudes better. Gallop out of the closet already!
That one is fitting, direct hit. And a Rat moniker is born.
I’d say she look weasely but Vijay the Forger already holds that title.
That Rat moniker in how she snuck onto the ballot works. 🐀
lol
Amazing that two years ago Ian Rintel was whining about the fact that his petitions were challenged and only because the Judge realized the Clerk screwed up and felt badly for him. So he was left on the ballot to come in last place. Now the shoe is on the other foot and Ian is now trying to stop someone from being on the ballot.
And typical ole drunky Jen Giattino hates women and will do anything to hurt people. For Jen and tiffanie the ends always justify the means.
I think you are mixing Jen up with another councilwoman who allegedly gets plastered.
nope .pretty sure stumbling jen and her buddy bernie kenney know how to put them down
Sad how Ravi’s Rats go to their usual gutter smear politics.
But hey anyone who knows Bhalla and Horowitz are not surprised.
It what they do. It is who they are,
Wanna talk about Jen? Clean up your own house guys….
Red cheeks Jabbour practically lives at 10th and WIllow with her sidekick/ VP bankrupted mike
Leave Little Emily alone! She’s just learning all the dirty tricks from Mikie. Once again, he’s skated with a sketchy seven-figure bankruptcy filing jacking an insurance company.
I heard Tiffany is challenging Pat Waiters petitions. Least shocking thing to hear that Tiffany wants the black woman out of the race
I plan on voting for Pat in the BOE election, as she provides an honest alternative to the $241m hockey rink/deceitful superintendent supporting posse now in place. That said, if Pat does not have valid signatures on her petitions, Tiffanie has every right to challenge, and we should encourage her to do so.
As we all know Pat Waiters opinion of Ravi Bhalla being a racist and how he has blocked at every turn because she is a black woman.
Here come the RAVI GUTTER race baiter and Faith exploiter BHALLA again
Ravi is only getting warmed up. Don’t forget his Terror Flier.
Well this settles it for me: Ravi is good person who surrounds himself with kind and gentile attorneys and highly honorable people like my daddy.
Win win. Win win. Win win.
What’s up with B-52’s heavy hangers? And why does she and Tonto look so happy?
Press releases asking people to come forward if they signed a blank petition is pretty lame. Hire an investigator to do an actual investigation. Knock on the door of every signator and get affidavits. Head to court if you find actual evidence.
Or STFU. Whining about fraud without evidence looks a lot like you know who and will only cost Jen votes. Just like it did in 2017.
Welcome to the brutal blood sport of Hoboken politics, Lauren!
Jen and Tiffanie seem to have forgotten they entered Hoboken’s political arena as virtual unknowns, sponsored by an incumbent mayor- back in 2011 and 2015, respectively. The brats having temper tantrums because this incumbent mayor, the defacto leader of Hoboken’s Democratic Party, has thrown his support to a candidate whom he knows personally and respects, are reacting to their innate bigotry that a BROWN mayor should not have that option. Look no further than Fisher trying to keep a black woman, Pat Waiters, off the ballot. SMH
Lauren, I respect your decision to step up as a candidate for the 6th ward. Let the 6th ward people decide in the voting booth or mail in ballot. This childish wailing over your entry reeks of their undeserved entitlement to a 2 person race. Doesn’t matter when you entered, you’re in. You’ve reached the legally mandated requirement for “wet” ballot signatures. Good luck to you, and to all candidates who step up to serve the city they love.
Hey Horowitz, you should be writing up Lauren’s platform so she can recite it for the next two months. Woman hasn’t voted in a local election or been part of a single issue in Hoboken. This isn’t your job. Stop interfering with Bleepjay’s work here. Ravi told you to stay out of his way.
Ravi Bhalla will not allow any of his candidates to have their own opinions. They were chosen to be his rubber stamps. He funds their campaigns and tells them what to do.
Word is the one time Councilman James Doyle voted against him over allowing a developer he made a deal with to use non-union workers he hit the roof.
That’s an interesting false narrative. Tiffanie was a zoning board member for years prior to running for the city council. Jen was involved with helping the food insecure through the LOTS program (Lunch on Tuesdays) she created for the school children where the children made lunch for and delivered those lunches to the homeless shelter.
Both of these women were participating in and with the community long before they ran for office.
Jen and Tiffanie WERE virtual unknowns in Hoboken POLITICS when they were drafted by Mayor Dawn Zimmer. True, Jen had been a Republican Party activist who served as a delegate at the Republican National Convention for anti-choice presidential candidate John Kasich, but that was before she entered Hoboken politics. Lauren IS already known in Hoboken politics for her service to the Hoboken Democratic Party, which Bhalla is the defacto leader of. To say that an active Democratic Party officer holds no political views or policy positions is like saying Jen Giattino held no policy positions when she voted for far-right presidential candidate John Kasich.
If Lauren is such a democratic activist, then how come she allegedly didn’t vote in the 2021 General Election? Murphy barely held on and Lauren couldn’t bother to show up to vote.
Maga Lauren is no democrat but, I guess she’s clever enough to know the only way to make inroads with her political ambition is to pretend to be a democrat.
Oh, the irony that the bhallabots that say all conservatives are racists are supporting a conservative and a dishonest one too.
This woman is a Ravi Puppet Fraud.
Another Lawyer who will cost us more in contracts
Already causing legal questions and she has never even been to a council meeting or voted locally
Hi my name is Jennifer Myers, this is my first time here. Is Vijay and Jason around? I’m looking for the petitions they told me they have …. I was promised I dont have to do anything but vote for contracts….
I don’t know anything about Lauren Myers. I definitely don’t know enough about her to start mocking her appearance like the weirdo above me calling her a rat.
BUT, it sure does feel like this is resume padding or a play for status. What issues prompted her to join the race? What solutions is she proposing? A political candidate with no proposals, no public stances, and no record of public service on which to judge them is always going to run the risk of being accused of being an opportunist.
I hope Ms. Myers is hard at work putting together a clearly articulated platform with proposals, positions, and how she thinks her presence on city council will help the people of Hoboken. Until that time, accusations that she is an opportunist social / political climber who will only act in her own best interest will be perfectly valid.
This is true for ALL candidates. Put up a platform that has details. Not another buzzword bio that describes the candidate as a problem solver.
She has already proven she is a Bhalla manufactured rubber stamp. Ravi Bhalla has his proxy political attack staff working hard to try to hold on to his City Council majority.
Playing the race card has alway been part of the political strategy for Bhalla. If you disagree with him he will try to smear you as a racist.
Ms Waiters has often publicly made it very clear she believes that Mayor Bhalla is racist.
She has a platform. Anything Bhalla wants he will rubber stamp.
Horowitz is writing Myers’ platform/script right now. Give her time to learn and recite it.
Lauren Myers has never voted in Hoboken or even attended a city council meeting?? She requires a spokesperson?! She is going to be another rubber stamper like Emily, Phil and Paul… ugh. Ravi and his people will do anything to squash dissent or opposing views on the city council.
Many times I thought Councilman James Doyle looked miserable and hung over during the City Council meetings.
Word was he didn’t want to run again for office until Ravi Bhalla put pressure on him to do so to save his voting block.
Seems Lauren got one over on the hob dem committee by pretending to be one of them so she could first become a committee person and then slip into a ward seat without lifting a finger of effort as a Bhalla-backed candidate. But now those republican roots which she’s been hiding since she moved to town a couple of years ago are on full parade. What’s a fake lib to do!
Seems like Race Baiting Ravi, loves to throw out his Brown skin as front for falsely and loosely claiming every critic is a “racist”
But lets ask Ravi this, WHere are the black and brown or Asian or Queer candidates that he has run for council?
Where are the Black, Brown or Asian directors that HE hired ( not inherited from Zimmer)?
Bhalla hired AA Director of Engineering Kimberli Craft, promoted AA Chris Brown to Director (promotion opposed by Tiffani Fisher), ran Council candidate Migdalia Pagano, picked Laura Knittel to be Hoboken’s first ever LGBTQ+ liaison, nominated gay priest Warren Hall for the Rent leveling board (but his appointment was blocked by Tiffani Fisher and Jen Giatino)… that’s off the top of my head. There are others.
Seriously, are you new to trolling or just dumb?
He underfunded Migdalia
He nearly slandederd DeFusco
Chris Brown was ALREADY on Staff
You threw down on Bhalla never hiring minorities and LGBT candidates– proved you’re full of crap. Not only has Bhalla hired, nominated and ran with minorities/LGBTQ he has promoted minorities to Director positions (when Tiffanie wanted to jump over him).
I only bother to reply to a moron like you to correct your alternative facts!
You named only 2 people who are actual employees.
Migdalia was a candidate, Laura is a volunteer,Warren withdrew….
Chris Brown was hired by Zimmer.
And as for Craft, that’s great, we are supposed to be impressed with 2 hires in 6 years?
I’m sure there are executives of color that could serve as B.A.’s and other positions rather than the Biff’s , Caleb’s, Jenny’s and Jon’s
Sounds like what it is a Fraternity.
that Ravi is a race baiter! At least you agree on that!
Warren Hall withdrew his application when he realized the sh*t Bhalla was pulling by removing experienced rent board members. (Something that Bhalla and his team successfully accomplished in 2021 and put rent control in jeopardy)
His appointment wasn’t blocked by anybody. Stop lying.
Why not hold people up to the rules and if they break them (whoever they are) they are disqualified
Quick. Lauren, get over to the clerks office so we can make it look like you’re the one that collected all of those petitions.
What. What? Oh, you go into the main entrance of city hall which is at 194 Washington St once inside, take a left and then a left. Go up to the window and turn them into the deputy clerk. His name is Jerry. Act like you know him.
Her first Hoboken vote will be for herself.
The next votes ( if she wins ) will be for Ravi’s pals legal contracts