Bhalla raises $50k at first fundaiser

Ravi Bhalla held his first fundraiser as the new mayor of Hoboken, bringing in $50,000 as a starting off point in his bid to take control of the City Council in 2019.

Bhalla announced this week that he would run a full slate of ward candidates next year.  That means he is recruiting opponents for three City Council members who ran in 2015 as allies of Mayor Dawn Zimmer but are now considered anti-Bhalla: Michael DeFusco, Tiffanie Fisher, Peter Cunningham and Jennifer Giattino — an against Councilman Ruben Ramos.

Sources say that it’s too early to decide if Councilman Michael Russo will be asked to join the Bhalla ticket — or if he even wants to.