A freshman lawmaker from Hudson County is not expected to seek re-election to a second term next year, possibly opening the door for Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla to run for the State Assembly in the 32nd district.
Assemblyman John Allen (D-Hoboken) has told political allies that he isn’t interested in returning to Trenton and will instead focus on his private sector responsibilities and possibly continue his public service in an appointed capacity.
Multiple people familiar with Allen’s plans confirmed he has made no secret of his readiness to leave the legislature after a single term.
But Allen has not made any official retirement announcement. He finished the first half of his first year in office with $16,902 cash-on-hand.
After Democrats reshuffled their 32nd district slate last year – the first race under a new map – they dropped four-term incumbent Annette Chaparro (D-Hoboken) from the ticket and picked Allen and now-Assemblywoman Jessica Ramirez (D-Jersey City) to run for the two open seats.
There’s a strong chance of a Democratic primary in the Jersey City-Hoboken district next year: Allen and Ramirez have pledged to share a slogan with gubernatorial candidate Steve Fulop, and that could cause party leaders like Hudson County Executive/Democratic County Chairman Craig Guy and State Sen./Union City Mayor Brian P. Stack to find new candidates.
Bhalla will need to decide if he wants to run for a third term as mayor next year or take a shot at an Assembly seat. In his House primary against Rep. Rob Menendez (D-Jersey City) in June, he carried the 32nd legislative district portion of the 8th congressional district by roughly 29 percentage points, carrying Hoboken with 60%. But turnout was lighter than it could be in the future.
Allen was Bhalla’s pick for the Assembly seat last year. He is Bhalla’s former chief of staff and assistant corporation counsel for the city of Hoboken.
While Guy would not confirm Allen’s possible departure, he indicated that Bhalla has some fence-mending to do.
“The nasty level that Mayor Bhalla brought his congressional campaign down to was appalling, and appalling to everyone who has the privilege to vote,” said Guy.
Allen would be the first Assembly member to retire, but two other members are already not expected to return: Herb Conaway is the clear frontrunner for the 3rd district congressional seat being vacated by U.S. Senate candidate Andy Kim (D-Moorestown), and Pamela Lampitt (D-Cherry Hill) is likely to win her race for Camden County Clerk.