Mayor Bhalla responds to Ramos-DeFusco STUNT

SHADY POLITICIANS 

Yesterday, Ruben Ramos and Mike DeFusco issued a joint press release to various media outlets, claiming that Mayor Bhalla has not cooperated with the Council on providing information about his 'of counsel' private sector gig.  

Their claim that: "We’ve given the Mayor four months to address the concerns presented but he has chosen to respond only with silence" is verifiably false. Mayor Bhalla fully cooperated with the council, answering all 26 questions with a copy of his contract, on or about February 21, 2018.. GA published the Q& A on March 5. 

Note (this is important): GA has confirmed that the Mayor's Office received no written requests for clarification or follow-up from the Council in the four months since Bhalla provided written responses to all 26 questions.   

Zip. Nothing. Get it? 

This was a political stunt. Thursday's press release was timed to hit one day after Ramos and DeFusco introduced an ordinance targeting Bhalla's outside employment, at Wednesday's City Council meeting.  In other words, this shady crew used a public meeting to execute a political operation against the mayor; they abused their power of their office. The People's House is for getting The People's work done (which we pay them for) not for political shenanigans.  

Late yesterday, Mayor Bhalla (who continues to work not "whisper") responded to the Ramos-DeFusco publicity stunt with a statement. 

Also, attached to the Mayor's response, was Corporation Counsel's legal opinion of the  "stunt ordinance"-- an opinion which the full council received in advanced of Wednesday's meeting, yet chose not to heed (except for Council members Doyle and Jabbour).  Stay tuned for that- its a doozy. 

MAYOR BHALLA'S RESPONSE TO RAMOS/DEFUSCO STUNT  

"It is ironic that the two City Council Members pushing a narrative of a lack of transparency are both are in violation of Hoboken’s Campaign Finance Law. Councilman DeFusco’s penalties add up to nearly $300,000 and Council President Ramos’ nearly $30,000.  But the height of hypocrisy is that at one point Council President Ramos had three publicly funded jobs and was collecting three taxpayer funded paychecks simultaneously. Not to mention that during his trips to Trenton, he forced the taxpayers to cover the cost of substitute teachers, while he received full salary and benefits as both a teacher and an Assemblyman.

Hoboken has been and remains my sole focus and the results speak for themselves.  The progression of the Washington Street Project, my work addressing homelessness and affordable housing in the City, while also advocating for the rights of LGBTQ and immigrant communities, I am committed to improving the quality of life in Hoboken and I hope that the City Council will support me in these efforts."

After issuing his response to credible media outlets, the Mayor felt so good he grabbed a senior and took a whirl on the dance floor.