Hudson County Board of Commissioners Chair Anthony Romano (D-5) was laid of from his part-time job in Hoboken earlier this month, sources familiar with the situation told HCV.
“Former Public Safety Advisor Anthony Romano served his last day on Oct. 9. Mayor Bhalla wishes him well in his future endeavors,” city spokeswoman Marilyn Baer said in an email.
Romano said he was told he was being laid off from the Hoboken Department of Public Safety since the position was being eliminated due to budgetary concerns. He declined to comment further.
Additionally, sources who spoke under the condition of anonymity since they were not authorized to speak on the matter, told this reporter that Romano would be paid through the end of the year.
Romano, a retired Hoboken police captain, assumed the municipal role on January 1st, 2022 and earned $50,000 a year.
Back in December, two weeks before the county commissioners named him to his first full term as chair, Romano and his eight colleagues all endorsed U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez (D-8) in a June 4th primary fight that pitted him against Mayor Ravi Bhalla.
Bhalla lost be roughly 15 points and Menendez is expected to easily win a second term on November 5th, while the Mile Square City mayor is widely expected to seek a state Assembly seat in the 32nd Legislative District next year.
He performed best in the CD-8 race in the portions of the district that overlap with LD-32: Hoboken, and Wards C, D, and E in Jersey City.
In that event, Bhalla would be on the ticket of Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop in his pursuit for the governorship, meaning that he and Romano would be on opposite political sides once again.
Romano will be supporting the ticket backed by the Hudson County Democratic Organization, an effort spearheaded by state Senator (D-33)/Union City Mayor Brian Stack and County Executive Craig Guy, who is also the HCDO chair.
Stack and Guy have already endorsed U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-5) for governor despite the fact that he has not announced his candidacy yet as he pursues a re-election bid where he is expected to coast to victory.