Jersey City Council President Joyce Watterman is backing Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla for Congress in the 8th District, where he’s seeking to unseat U.S. Rep. Rob Menendez.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Today, I endorse Ravi Bhalla for Congress because I believe in him. As mayor of Hoboken, Ravi has delivered for his community. From taking on the crisis of affordability to ensuring that our most vulnerable residents are taken care of, Congress would benefit a great deal from Ravi’s leadership,” Watterman said in a statement.
“And throughout his time as a public servant – first as a city council member and then as mayor – Ravi has provided a strong and consistent voice against hatred, racism and discrimination in all its forms. He is the kind of representative we need in our corner, which is why he has my full and enthusiastic support.”
Watterman, a declared candidate for mayor in 2025 joins her colleague, Ward E Councilman James Solomon, in supporting the Hoboken mayor, breaking from the Hudson County Democratic Organization’s endorsement of Menendez.
This is the second time this year that Watterman has went against the local Democratic party, supporting U.S. Rep. Andy Kim’s (D-3) bid for U.S. Senate in January, long before First Lady Tammy Murphy dropped out of the race.
“I am incredibly grateful to have the support of Jersey City Council President Joyce Watterman. A leader in Hudson County, Council President Watterman represents the best of public service across all of New Jersey,” Bhalla added.
“From her time as a non-profit leader supporting children and families to her advocacy in support of criminal justice reform programs to ensure that all of us are treated fairly by the law, Council President Watterman has helped lead Jersey City forward/ I am pleased to have her support. Together, we’re going to offer the voters of New Jersey’s 8th congressional district a better choice.”
Bhalla and Menendez are in a slugfest that is only expected to intensify as the June 4th primary gets closer, with a third candidate, Kyle Jasey, also in the race.
No line + strong fundraising + support from Solomon (downtown) + support from Watterman (black voters) = Bhalla upset victory?
MINUS Brian Stack in Union City
Minus Ras Baraka in Newark
MINUS Stamato, McCann and Healy in JSQ, Marion and Greenville and Heights!
LOL
You must be looney toons. The 8th congressional district makes up more than just downtown JC and black voters.
It encompasses Newark and Elizabeth that are both behind Menendez Jr.
The 8th congressional district is the only district in NJ that is majority Hispanic, representing 54% of the district compared with black voters that are 8% and 25% white voters.
What about the fundraising? No line? Anti establishment sentiment? Are you a supporter or the Menendez crime family?
Fiefdoms and monikers aside, which of the two candidates do we believe will better represent the district? Menendez is the son of a compromised politician – Bhalla is a compromised politician.
If you can’t see that Junior is a compromised politician because of his corrupt family then I have 2 Egyptian gold bars to sell you.
Did Junior use a hate crime to get elected? That’s a Ravi exclusive.
Did Ravi? Haven’t seen any proof after city, county and state police investigations. But if you have it please share. What Junior did do is use the Menendez crime family to strong arm hudco, disenfranchising hundreds of thousands of voters, to anoint him congressman. What did he do to deserve that seat? A few years on the Port Authority Board – one of the most notoriously corrupt government agencies to ever exist?
Yeah, “after.” Look for the union label, you phony.
When the voters go vote and they are picking between bhalla or menendez, I would say that the majority of the Hispanics will more identify with Menendez than bhalla for a multitude of reasons.
bhalla has never represented them and never will, he is the mayor of one of the more affluent towns in the district with median home values at $600k, median salary of $160k and over 70% white, compared with the rest of the 8th congressional district that has median home value of $300k, median salary of $40k and majority hispanic
“bhalla has never represented them and never will” The only reason why Junior represents them now is because of his corrupt family/nepotism LOL. Hispanic voters have been embarrassed & betrayed by the Menendez crime family as well as all other types of voters in the district. People are eager for a change and want to move on from the decades of corruption crime and misconduct the Menendez family has brought on this district and state for too long.
If Robert Menendez Jr. had any decency he’d call on his father to step down as so many good Democrats have done.
Bhalla will never represent them and Hispanic voters have not been betrayed by Menendez. Go check out the vote total for when Jr ran for congress in the heavy Hispanic areas.
We’re all just waiting for another hate crime to be committed, coincidently found and reported by Bhalla operatives. We successfully painted the one lgbqt guy as a racist, lets see if we can go double or nothing and claim the hispanic guy is a racist too.
He’s never run in a competitive election without support of the line so I’m not sure what point youre trying to make? election results against David Ocampo Grajales or Marcos Aroyo are worthless. And every hispanic voter I’ve spoken to feels betrayed by the Menendez crime family enriching themselves while their constituents still struggle to make ends meet. Couple that with being out spent 4-1 and things get interesting.
Not sure what Hispanic voters you are speaking to. Have you spoken to ones in Elizabeth, Newark, Union City??? Those feel betrayed by Biden, not so much by Jr.