Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla endorses ‘Leadership that Listens’ team in BOE race

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Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla has endorsed the “Leadership that Listens” team in the non-partisan November 8th board of education race, stating they will make “evidence-based decisions” for the betterment of students and the district.

Twitter photo.

By John Heinis/Hudson County View

“I know for many, the high school referendum is a topic that is important to many residents. Voters made it clear that the proposal put on the ballot would have benefitted from even deeper community input and was too much, too soon,” Bhalla said on his website.

“When I met with Leslie [Norwood], Antonio [Grana] and Alex [De La Torre], they made it clear that they’ve listened to and taken this feedback to heart, learned from the mistakes made during the process, and will push for much greater community engagement on any school-related capital improvement projects going forward.”

Bhalla’s endorsement isn’t a huge surprise, given that two of his allies on the city council, 5th Ward representative Phil Cohen and at-Large representative Joe Quintero have already backed LTL and the mayor also came out in favor of the referendum in January.

He describes the BOE team as “longtime residents, dedicated community activists with children in the school district, and have a history of supporting our schools.”

Furthermore, Bhalla said they will “make evidence-based decisions, free from politics, with the sole goal of improving our education system.”

“I know that Leslie, Antonio and Alex trust our educators to make the decisions on which books to teach our children, believe in diversity and inclusion training, and come to decisions and opinions based on sound science and data,” he continued.

“The choice for me, especially in comparison to previous public comments made by other candidates in the race, is abundantly clear – Leadership that Listens has my vote,” referencing Facebook comments opposing mask mandates for children from “Kids First” candidate Donna Magen.

For the time being, Hoboken electeds are mostly sitting this one out, though former 5th Ward Councilman Peter Cunningham endorsed Kids First, while 1st Ward Councilman Mike DeFusco attended a fundraiser for the trio.

In an email blast this afternoon, 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher, who has not endorsed in the race but has criticized LTL for an attack ad that painted Kids First as Republican extremists last week, said Bhalla taking aim at Magen was a cheap shot.

“Candidates who like maybe you and your neighbors someday, who just wanted to get more involved in your community and have not hurt him or anyone in Hoboken, are now under attack by the mayor just to score another political win,” she wrote.

“Let that sink in. That is the culture he and his team have created in our town and in our elections and one that we critically need to be changed.”

 

Editor’s note: This story was updated with a comment from 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher. 


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21 COMMENTS

  1. Ravi wants to reward the dishonesty, lying and incompetence with this BoE backed-ticket for his big construction union pals. $400 million in construction contracts and kickbacks.

    That really aids (and abets) home reconstruction projects too.

    The Terror Flier legacy lives on.

  2. Guess if LTL does win, it won’t be something to brag about, they need all these politicians to win…
    mayor sent his kids to Charter and county schools

  3. “I know for many, the high school referendum is a topic that is important to many residents. Voters made it clear that the proposal put on the ballot would have benefitted from even deeper community input and was too much, too soon… When I met with Leslie [Norwood], Antonio [Grana] and Alex [De La Torre], they made it clear that they’ve listened to and taken this feedback to heart, learned from the mistakes made during the process, and will push for much greater community engagement on any school-related capital improvement projects going forward.”

    “Deeper community input”??? There was NO community input! What kind of bubble do you have to live in to spend that much time and money and not seek any input from the people who you’ll asking to pay for it?

    This team, especially incumbent Alex De La Torre, are complete and utter failures. Because of them the children of Hoboken public schools won’t have libraries art, or music rooms for years to come. No one should vote for LTL.

  4. Only Ravi Bhalla could issue a political endorsement for his hand chosen candidates and simultaneously state they he supports them because they’ll make decisions ‘free from politics’. Do as I say, not as I do…

  5. Tiffanie is just as much part of the toxic culture in this political environment as everyone else. Frankly, I’m disgusted by EVERYONE’S behavior and I’d like to see ALL our electeds grow up and just do their jobs. But to pretend that she’s above it is, well, #comfortablydishonest. Case in point, just this week, Tiffanie was hosting her birthday meet ups and tweeted it was “Too funny that the Administration suddenly added extended office hours in the 2nd Ward during my birthday week.” The truth is that those hours were announced back on 10/9 aka not so “suddenly.” Just another example of the councilwoman “not paying close enough attention.”

    • This moral equivalence BS with Ravi using his office as mayor to promote a near $400 million Taj Mahal to these BoE people is simply incorrect. Pointing it out as Councilwoman Fisher has done is not the crime, not the kickback and not the construction monstrosity being shoved down Hoboken taxpayer throats.

      Just pathetic bots, Ravibots!

    • I agree with your statement that ALL of our elected officials need to grow up and do their jobs, but will defend Tiffanie’s willingness to stand up for her (and her constituents’) convictions. So many on the council (and the school board, for that matter) are beholden to our Mayor and will never challenge his positions. Kudos to Tiffanie for standing up for what she believes is right.

      • Let’s be honest, Tiffanie believes more voices are better but only when they agree with her. As a non-elected constituent that has been publicly attacked by Tiffanie, I think she’s playing you for a fool in thinking she’s standing up for the right reasons.

        • In her own mind she’s smarter than Bhalla, a better executive than Bhalla and whiter than Bhalla. Whatever Bhalla does/says, she will do/say the opposite. If you disagree, she will play victim and call you a “bully”.

          But unlike Bhalla, Fisher doesn’t have the moral courage to stand by her purported convictions, or she would endorse anti-masking, GOP extremist slate Kids First.

          When Fisher runs for mayor (she will) she knows that her KF endorsement will damage her with the Hudco Dem machine.

  6. Mayor Bhalla is endorsing a school board slate that will most certainly introduce another referendum for a new (and expensive!) high school. This, together with the proposed municipal palace, newly created (and highly compensated) positions in City Hall, and other costly city projects in the hopper, will undoubtedly result in a tax increase for the citizens of Hoboken.

    It’s time for a change, people, and we can start by voting for Kids First (6-7-8) on November 8.

  7. If Norwood wins, and any of the losing candidates claim there was fraud and that her victory is illegitimate, will she and her husband then claim there is full election integrity and that voters can trust the system? But only when they like they outcome?

    A question that truly matters in deciding whether someone is fit for office, IMO.

  8. I’m torn in this election. The school bond was an inexcusable travesty and those responsible appear to have learned nothing from it other than a disdain for the idea that they should have to ask the voters for permission to spend hundred of millions of taxpayer dollars.

    On the other hand, Hoboken’s schools have dramatically improved on Christine Johnson’s watch and the opposition ticket is managed by Joe Branco, a familiar face to those familiar with the seedy side of Hoboken politics. Joe is not problematic because he is a (newly minted) Republican. Joe is problematic because to say that Joe’s political history in Hoboken politics, including in past school board races, has been unsavory would be a dramatic understatement of his affiliations and antics over many years.

    Nevertheless, I’ll be voting for KF because Mayor Bhalla and the incumbent school board need to know there will be accountability for their profligate spending and disdain for the democratic process. Policy can’t be made in secret behind closed doors and implemented by wheeling and dealing with other politicos. The only deal that ought to be made is one honestly and transparently made with the voters.

    I don’t think I could vote for a Joe Branco ticket if if doing so would give them control over a public bathroom, much less the public schools. But this election, no matter how it plays out, will leave Dr. Johnson in charge with a school board still 6-3 supporting her policies. The public schools will continue to improve, but having 3 skeptics in the room asking questions and informing the public will hopefully also restore some much needed accountability. I want the crew who will still hold all the power over our public schools after this election to spend the next year knowing they will have to re-earn the public’s trust over the next year if they want to keep that majority power going forward.

    • A few new independent voices free from the grip of Johnson and Bhalla will give the voters a chance to get all the facts in a timely manner, be able ask question and actually get answer and really be apart of any future planning. Voting for Kids First.

  9. How can kids first claim they want finacial transparency when they refused to file the legally required election law financial disclosure forms?

    How can they claim to bring people together when they choose Joe Branco as their campaign manager, are endirsed by a Q-anon group and have spent the past 10 months demeaning the schools and teaching staff?

    How can they claim to represent the voters when they railed against the majority supported health care executive orders that allowed the schools to remain open and referred to parents who disagreed with their perspective as sheep?

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