In a press release sent Thursday, May 16, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla announced five members of his slate for the upcoming November municipal election in which residents will elect six new ward council members. The Team Bhalla slate of candidates are Migdalia Pagan-Milano for the first ward, Nora Martinez DeBenedetto in the Second Ward, Lisa Sprengle in the Fourth Ward, Phil Cohen in the Fifth Ward, and Cristin Cricco Powell in the Sixth Ward.
According to the release, Pagan-Milano is a lifelong resident who began working with the community as an assistant in the city’s Cultural Affairs Department where she helped organize Hoboken’s first Pride week. Currently, Migdalia works in the newly reconstituted Department of Constituent Affairs where she finds solutions to residents’ day-to-day issues.
Martínez DeBenedetto is a lifelong resident and is a teacher at Kaplan Cooperative Preschool. She coordinates Art in the Park for the city and was a founding member and volunteer organizer of the Hoboken Uptown Farmers Market for 10 years. Sprengle is an attorney, accountant, and a mom. Shecurrently works as the Controller for a New York-based company where she is involved in legal, finance, accounting, human resources, and store construction.Cohen is an attorney and a longtime community activist who has served on a number of city and community boards, including the Zoning Board. He currently serves on the Rebuild by Design Citizens Advisory Group and as the Hoboken Democratic Party Chair.
Cricco Powell is a producer and director of television shows and documentaries as well as an active supporter of the Hoboken Public Education Foundation and of reform candidates for the Hoboken School Board. Her great grandparents Robert and Raffaela Cricco helped build St. Ann’s Church.
“Taken together, this slate of candidates represent the new energy, new ideas, and public spiritedness we need to keep moving Hoboken in the right direction,” Mayor Bhalla said. “As council members, I know Migdalia, Nora, Lisa, Phil and Cristin will put Hoboken first, working cooperatively to move our city forward, forgoing the political attacks and grandstanding that have too often sidetracked the current city council.”
A kickoff event will be held at 10th & Willow on Tuesday, May 21, at 7 p.m.
