Hoboken council overrides mayoral veto on runoff elections

HOBOKEN – Voters here will get to decide in November whether to reinstate runoff municipal elections.
The City Council passed a resolution 7-2 on Wednesday, overriding Mayor Ravi Bhalla’s veto of an ordinance to allow a referendum on the ballot asking voters whether to reinstate runoff elections.
Councilman Jim Doyle and Councilwoman Emily Jabbour voted against the override.
The city did away with runoff elections in 2012. Mayor Dawn Zimmer and her allies said the process wasted money and encouraged too much political wrangling.
Before that, if no candidate received more than 50 percent of the vote in an election, the top two vote-getters would participate in another election.
For more information on the vote see this week’s edition of the Hoboken Reporter.