Bhalla opens 2021 mayoral campaign

Quietly on June 14, 2018, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla opened up his 2021 committee: Election Fund of Ravi S. Bhalla for Mayor.    

This makes the mayor the first official candidate in Hoboken's 2021 mayoral election. 

November 2, 2021 may be 1125 days away, but it's never too early to prepare-- that means build a war chest.  In July, Bhalla reported $30,586.05 in receipts, including a $10,406.05 transfer from his last campaign.  (For comparison, Jen Giattino reported receipts of a measly  $25,652.89 on her 29-day pre-election report.)

Yeah, Bhalla wants a 2nd term. 

None of this is earth-shattering news to the  mayor's friends. But, it might be to the "resistance" crowd, including the scorched-earth, pizza- pinching Council majority.  Because their narrative has always been that Hoboken is just a pit stop on his way to Trenton or D.C.; that Bhalla is just killing time in Hoboken until bigger and better opportunities come along.  

Ironically, his most vocal Council critics, Michael DeFusco and Tiffanie Fisher, appear to possess the craven political aspirations they have projected upon the mayor. Their petty, gratuitously nasty conduct toward Bhalla and his staff ("No pizza--and no stipend-- for you!") suggest they believe his achievements somehow thwart their own. Consequently, they diminish them-- unless they are included and can glom credit.  If not, DeFusco and Fisher will assign the worst possible motives to whatever he initiates; they want him to fail.  And Hoboken residents, Hoboken district schools, are collateral damage-- GA hears that the Council's latest war is on the Hoboken Public Education Foundation. (More on that later... prepare to vomit.)   

Sad for pizza-pinchers and "resistance" losers, Bhalla isn't going anywhere as long as The People support him. 

GA asked Bhalla if he likes being mayor.

"I love being mayor of Hoboken."  

"Why?," I asked. 

"Because it's a chance to make a real positive difference for so many-- through efforts like our intiative to uplift the homeless community in Hoboken."

As an observer of this administration, GA can tell you that Bhalla is working his ass off "to make a real positive difference for so many."

1125 days is a long way off.  Unlike the "resistance" crowd and the Council Pizza-Pinchers, GA wants Mayor Bhalla to succeed. I hope you do, too-- whether or not you support him.  We rise or fall together.