Presinzano wins Hoboken council runoff

In Hoboken’s Ward 1, Paul Presinzano defeated Rafi Cordova for the city council seat in today’s runoff election, dealing Mayor Ravi Bhalla a loss.

Presinzano beat Cordova by 163 votes, 692-529 (57%-43%) for the seat of Michael DeFusco, who did not seek re-election.

Last month, Presinzano received 47.9% of the vote, 26 short of the 50% he needed to avoid a runoff, 608-539, against Rafi Cordova (42.5%).  A third candidate, Leo Pellegrini, received 114 votes (8.9%).

Cordova, the Hoboken Rent Leveling and Stabilization Board chairman, had the backing of Bhalla, Council President Emily Jabbour, and Councilman Phil Cohen.

Presinzano has the backing of Councilmembers Tiffanie Fisher, Jen Giattino, and Ruben Ramos.  He ran for an at-large city council seat, finishing fourth in a field of ten candidates for three seats.  Presinzano lost by 2,456 votes.

“I am honored and humbled by the tremendous outpouring of support. The past 740 days have been an amazing journey,” Presinzano said in a social media post.  “While some tried to drag us down, we stuck together and stayed focused on the issues that matter. Together, we will make Hoboken better. Let’s get to work.”

This story was updated at 9:04 PM with comment from Presinzano.