Hoboken council leaders endorse Bhalla, Brennan for Assembly

A pair of Hoboken Council leaders endorsed Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla and former Murphy administration official Katie Brennan for Assembly this week, according to a release.

Hoboken City Council President Jim Doyle and Vice President Phil Cohen will support the two Democrats in the 32nd legislative district, which encompasses Hoboken and parts of Jersey City.

The pair are seeking seats currently held by Assemblywoman Jessica Ramirez (D-Jersey City) and Assemblyman John Allen (D-Hoboken). Allen, Bhalla’s former chief of staff, is not running for re-election.

“Ravi Bhalla and Katie Brennan will do the people’s work in Trenton—not that of the party bosses,” Doyle said in a release. “I know first-hand that Ravi is an effective, innovative leader. As mayor of Hoboken, he has led the City in the ongoing fight to curb the impact of climate change, to protect our rent control laws, to expand affordable housing, and to make the city a safer place to walk, bike, and drive.”

Bhalla joined the race days before Allen confirmed he would not seek re-election to pursue private-sector opportunities. 

“Ravi Bhalla and Katie Brennan bring the proven, independent leadership we need at the Statehouse,” Cohen said in the release. “Ravi and Katie will be effective and tireless advocates for Jersey City and Hoboken in the State Assembly, making sure we receive our fair share of state funding. I proudly endorse them and look forward to campaigning on their behalf between now and the June 10 Democratic Primary.”

Ramirez is running on a slate backed by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Steve Fulop, the mayor of Jersey City. Also on that slate is Yousef Saleh, a Jersey City councilman.

The Hudson County organization appears ready to support Jennie Pu, the director of the Hoboken Public Library and a PTA president and community activist in Jersey City, and Crystal Fonseca, a manager at the Jersey City Department of Public Safety and a former Newark school board member.

Bhalla and Brennan weren’t initially running together, but they merged tickets earlier this week after they said their plans to run separate campaigns were upended by a new law that allows candidates to bracket together.