In a letter to the editor, Brian and Alyse Battaglia explain why the feel Team Bhalla is the best choice to lead Hoboken forward for the next four years.
Dear Editor,
Alyse and I are very happy to be voting again to re-elect our friends Emily Jabbour and Jim Doyle, and to elect for the first time, Joe Quintero to the City Council.
Four years ago, our family supported Councilman Ravi Bhalla for Mayor and Jim and Emily for Council. Four years later, we can say without any hesitation that they have made Hoboken incredibly proud.
When we look back at the pandemic years from now, we’ll be able to say that Mayor Bhalla, with the steadfast support of Jim and Emily, saved lives with early and decisive action.
As a former business owner, I know how incredibly difficult it must have been for our local establishments to survive during an unprecedented time.
Mayor Bhalla, with the backing of Jim and Emily on the council, led Hoboken to become one of the first cities to establish streateries and parklets, to provide free COVID-19 testing for all Hoboken business employees, and to create summer and open streets to facilitate more business for our commercial corridors.
As our leaders in government, Ravi, Jim, and Emily made sure our businesses stayed in business and kept Hoboken safe so residents didn’t have to flee the city.
Joe Quintero wasn’t serving on the Council during the pandemic, but he was serving as an elected member of the Hoboken Democratic Committee for the past four years.
Joe is someone who put his heart and soul into driving civic participation through voter registration drives, recruiting members to volunteer on campaigns to elect principled public servants, and more.
Knowing Joe’s motivation for getting involved and his experience as the bilingual son of immigrants, he will work tirelessly to help provide representation to minority communities in our city who often feel underrepresented.
As we move forward, one of the critical issues that Hoboken faces is combating climate change and limiting the damage caused by more severe storms. My family knows what it is to face damage from flooding as so many did from Tropical Storm Ida.
We suffered substantial loss when our store, Battaglia’s Home, was flooded during Superstorm Sandy.
Team Bhalla is committed to implementing Hoboken’s $230 million Rebuild by Design project, creating resiliency parks, and more flood infrastructure projects to help protect and adapt against more severe storms.
There is no more important issue for Hoboken in a post-pandemic world, and I have no doubt the mayor’s team will continue to prioritize resiliency efforts going forward, much like they have the past four years.
Above all, we know Ravi, Jim, Joe, and Emily personally. They are dedicated and down-to-earth, driven and personable, and know how to put politics aside to better our city. There are no better individuals that I trust to lead Hoboken forward for another four years.
Sincerely,
Brian & Alyse Battaglia
Hoboken residents