Dear Editor:
I am writing to ask for the support of my Hoboken neighbors for my friend Ravi Bhalla for Hoboken’s upcoming mayoral election, as well as for Ravi’s council team of Councilman Jim Doyle, Emily Jabbour and John Allen.
I moved to Hoboken 31 years ago. Watching our city transform, I know we are at an important crossroads. For one, our next mayor will be tasked with implementing the Rebuild By Design program, which is an historic opportunity to invest $230 million to protect our city from future devastating floods and storm surge like Superstorm Sandy five years ago. As the co-chair of the Rebuild by Design Advisory Group, Ravi is best qualified to move this critical project forward. He attended meetings and worked diligently to solicit feedback and communicated directly with various stakeholders and residents, making sure all voices were heard. Thanks to Ravi’s stellar leadership, we are well on our way to protecting our city for the long term, as a model for the nation on dealing with climate change and living with rising seas.
Ravi’s track record on the council also distinguishes his mayoral candidacy. Serving as our council president soon after Mayor Zimmer took over the city eight years ago, Ravi played a large role implementing the plan to stabilize our city’s finances after a previous 70 percent tax hike, and saddled with near junk bond status (we now enjoy an AA+ bond rating). Additionally, Ravi is the only mayoral candidate to support Mayor Zimmer’s open space plan from start to finish, which led to our new Southwest Park and our purchase of the Northwest Park, where our pop-up park is today.
Finally, Ravi was a key partner for Mayor Zimmer’s effort to secure funding for the H-5 flood pump, which now alleviates flooding in northwest Hoboken.
As important as Ravi’s extensive experience as a civil rights attorney, who has served eight years as a dedicated Councilman-at-Large, is Ravi’s temperament. Particularly in Ravi’s first four years on the City Council, Hoboken’s council meetings got pretty crazy. Kind of like a bad reality TV show, complete with insults, yelling, and the kind of behavior we teach our kids not to practice. During all this turmoil, Ravi served as an anchor on our City Council. His calm, thoughtful approach to the issues will serve him well when he confronts the inevitable challenges and pressures of being Hoboken’s mayor.
On Nov. 7, I will cast my vote for Ravi Bhalla (3H) for Hoboken Mayor, and Jim Doyle (13I), Emily Jabbour (14I) and John Allen (15I) for City Council, and I hope that you will too.
Phil Cohen
