Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla was re-elected in an unopposed contest and swept the council-at-large race decisively, according to preliminary tallies from the Hudson County Clerk’s Office.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“This was an overwhelming victory tonight for Mayor Bhalla and the Team Bhalla at-large Council slate of Councilwoman Emily Jabbour, Councilman Jim Doyle and Joe Quintero. Hoboken voters sent a message that they strongly approved of the performance, policies and new proposals of Mayor Bhalla and his Council Team,” said Team Bhalla campaign spokesman Rob Horowitz.
“Team Bhalla thanks Hoboken voters for the strong mandate they provided – one that will create momentum for leading Hoboken forward. Team Bhalla congratulates all the Council opponents for their hard work and the good campaigns they ran.”
Bhalla got 8,170 votes, with Jabbour leading the council team with over 5,282. Doyle and Quintero were both hovering around 5,000.
Quintero will replace Councilwoman-at-Large Vanessa Falco, who decided not to run again in favor of directing a new housing division with the city early next year.
Their slate challenge came from the “Independently Together” team of Cheryl Fallick, Sheila Brennan, and Paul Presinzano, who had support from Council members Mike DeFusco (he endorsed Presinzano), Tiffanie Fisher and Jen Giattino (who backed the whole slate), but were unable to force a runoff after losing nearly 2-to-1.
Ian Rintel, Pat Waiters, Cindy Wiegand, and Manny Solar Rivera all ran as independents are were a ways off from striking distance.