Hoboken Mayoral Candidate Profile: Dini Ajmani

HOBOKEN, NJ — Dini Ajmani, a former deputy secretary in the state and federal Treasury Departments, is among six candidates running become the next mayor of Hoboken. Patch will be posting their profiles and Q&A this week. Come back to Hoboken Patch to read them all.

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Four of the candidates have been on the City Council for more than two terms each, so theoretically, they have had time to try to implement their ideas. But council members Fisher, Ramos, and Russo have sometimes been at odds with Mayor Ravi Bhalla, and thus might have faced opposition, while Bhalla's ally, Councilwoman Emily Jabbour, has voted with him consistently.

The elections are non-partisan. Residents can choose a mayoral candidate and any three council members in November.

Hoboken's salary ordinance states that the next mayor will be paid $130,000 and the Hoboken City Council members will earn $35,000. The council president and vice president will start at $40,000 and $37,500, plus optional benefits.

The list of people who filed to run are:

• Dini Ajmani, former state and U.S. Treasury official
• Tiffanie Fisher, 2nd Ward councilwoman
• Emily Jabbour, councilwoman-at-large
• Ruben Ramos Jr., 4th Ward councilman
• Michael Russo, 3rd Ward councilman
• Patricia Waiters, who has run for council and school board

PRIOR REPORTING: More Candidates Join Hoboken Mayor's Race

Candidate Profile And Questions

Biographical Questions

Name: Dini Ajmani
Age: 61 years
Length of time you've lived in Hoboken: almost 10 years
Public service in Hoboken: Planning board, advisory board of Hoboken Business Alliance
Family: Two daughters ( Hannah and Leah), a dog (Yogi), husband (Sonny)
Do you have immediate family members working for local government? Who? None
Do you have a full-time job? If so, what is it? If not, how do you earn a living? My most recent job in the federal government, with the Biden administration, ended on January 20, 2025. I have savings from my career on Wall Street, and my husband still works full time as a management consultant.
How many properties do you own in Hudson County? Two
Educational background: MBA, Stanford University. MS, UT Austin. BS, Indian Institute of Technology.
Other experience: Deputy Assistant Secretary, US Treasury. Assistant Treasurer, State of New Jersey.
If you are supporting a ticket of council candidates, please state their names. Nick Gorka, Kim Giddens, Sashi Khemlani
Website where voters can find more information: diniforhoboken.com

Longer Questions. Answers must be kept to 250 words or fewer.

1. Since all of the candidates have experience with local or state government, the voters may not know the differences. Please tell us what makes you more qualified for the job than all of your opponents.

Our city is at a critical juncture. Four of the members of the council are running for mayor. Between them, they have spent 57 years on the council. Under their stewardship, our life has only become harder. It is exhausting dealing with traffic, parking, broken roads, construction noise, road closures. Their collective experience has not helped us. Personal vendetta and long running feuds among the council members have replaced productive governance.

Hoboken’s finances are broken. After years of spending more than the revenue, the City has run out of one-time fixes to plug the hole. We need a mayor who has the relationships to bring resources from the state and the county. I am a proven leader with experience in running large organizations and large budgets. As Assistant Treasurer for New Jersey, I had 400+ employees reporting to me. As Deputy Assistant Secretary at the US Treasury Department, I worked on the housing crisis at the national level. This is after spending over a decade at Wall Street banks, structuring complex financial instruments.

Our city has become a cautionary tale of what happens when personal political ambition supersedes public service. Running the city is like running a business but for the benefit of the residents. Hoboken needs an experienced CEO. I believe I am that person.

2. What is the biggest problem in Hoboken, and how will you address it?

Our taxes are about to skyrocket. We are potentially a year away from the state taking over management of our city. The council has spent close to $19 million more than it should have. Over the years, it has used many gimmicks to plug this hole. For example, raiding the parking utility, rainy-day funds, selling land, etc. The city has now used up all of these one-time tricks. Now, it must raise taxes or cut services. However, there is another path, and one that I will choose. First, cut spending and stop giving tax breaks to developers. We give tax breaks to luxury developers, revenue that we desperately need. Second, we give out generous labor contracts that are resulting in high salaries and pension costs. Third, We send $70 million in county taxes to Hudson county but barely receive any services in return. As mayor, I would ask the Sheriff's office to patrol our city so we don't need to increase the size of our own police department. I would ask the county to build our Union Dry Dock park so it is not paid for by the Hoboken taxpayer. These changes would immediately alter the trajectory of our public finances.

3. For whom did you vote in the 2024 presidential election? How do you see national politics affecting Hoboken in the next few years?

I voted for Kamala Harris in the election. We are already dealing with the fallout from getting entangled in national politics. Our council and mayor have put a target on the back of this city’s immigrants and taxpayers by proclaiming Hoboken to be a "Fair and Welcoming City" The State of New Jersey is already a sanctuary state. Period. Back in 2018, the state attorney general issued a directive barring local police from participating in ICE immigration enforcement. Even the loudest anti-immigration mayors in NJ can’t have their police assist ICE. That’s just the law. Truth is, Hoboken has always welcomed everyone—we didn’t need an official label to prove it. The proclamation is more political theater than something that benefits the community.

Hoboken receives annual grants from the federal government of close to $6 million in total. These grants help our non-profits like Hoboken Shelter and Community Lifestyle. Some of the grants are to replace our water infrastructure. These resources are now in jeopardy as federal grants are being pulled back, thanks to the mayor’s theatrics.

4. Hoboken residents have been promised a community pool for decades and still don't have one, despite updates each spring about a plan. There's also little citywide access to the existing pools in town. If you are elected mayor, by what year can residents expect a pool? Please be specific. If you can't make that promise, why not?

We need a pool. Not all of us go away for the summer and the Weehawken pool is not a reliable option given their understandable preference for their own residents. I will make the pool a priority but build it without using taxpayer money. The Weehawken pool is nice, but we have to shell out $250 for a membership fee, and passes run out quickly. Forget about going on weekends, the place is packed by 10:30 AM, and we can't get in.

Weehawken funded their pool mostly through state and county money. The State of New Jersey actually sets aside over $250 million from corporate taxes specifically for municipal recreation and conservation. Yet somehow, Hoboken keeps missing out on opportunities to bring large sums to our city.

I spent four years as Assistant Treasurer for the State of New Jersey, working directly on providing aid to municipalities. I saw how the money flows and which mayors know exactly how to tap into these resources. It's all about knowing how to ask and who to ask.

5. Do you believe Hoboken's current rent control ordinance should stay as is? If not, what changes would you make, and do you believe other rent-related laws are needed?

Our rent control ordinance is mostly working for renters in smaller buildings that are 30+ years old. However, corporate landlords apply for and generally receive exemptions from rent control. It's these buildings where renters are exposed to exorbitant rent increases or additional utility fees. We need guardrails on these landlords. One way to do that is by adding renter-friendly language in the financial agreement prior to approving a project. This opportunity has been available to the mayor and the council, but because of their dependence on developers for campaign finance, no Hoboken politician has used it.

6. It's been said that the city has become unaffordable to some long-time residents. Some have suggested creative solutions to cut costs, such as $5 ferry rides. Recreation programs have been made free to residents who qualify for school lunches -- but the cutoff is an annual income of $59,478 for a family of four, perhaps not a lot to live on in Hoboken. What is one creative solution you'd like to try to make living here more affordable, that others have not thought of yet?

The cost of housing is the biggest contributor to unaffordability. I will not take a salary as mayor. Instead, I will reinvest the full value of the salary into programs designed to directly serve the community, starting with a high-level dedicated leader to support renters. In a renter’s negotiation with a corporate landlord, the landlord holds all the cards. Renters have very little control. I will bring in reinforcements to shift the power imbalance back in favor of renters.

7. Have you taken developer contributions to your campaign? Do you think it's a problem for a Hoboken candidate to take them?

No, I have not and I will not. Developer money in our local politics is at the core of what is damaging our city. Our politicians are beholden to these developers. They approve massive development projects without understanding the implications for our infrastructure. They give tax breaks to developers which then raise taxes for the rest of us. Money is being diverted from our schools to developers. My opponents offer massive new development as a panacea for our budget problems. In the last eight years, our population has gone from 50,000 to 65,000 and our property taxes have gone up almost 30 percent. It is time we put a restriction on council members voting on projects by developers that have funded their campaigns.

8. Which toppings do you normally get on your pizza, and what are some things that should never go on a pizza?

Every type of vegetable, especially corn. Eggs should never go on pizza. I have tried it. Doesn't work.

Controversies And Candidates

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