Hoboken's New 'Mayor Emily' Explains It All

HOBOKEN, NJ — Sitting down for an interview at the small Café Tati in Hoboken, Mayor-Elect Emily Jabbour gets interrupted over and over by well-wishers who’ve known her for years as a two-term councilwoman, mom, and neighbor in the mile-square city.

Which begs a question — what should longtime friends or acquaintances call her?

"That's so funny. I would never have thought of that!" chimes in Café Tati owner Lisa Balouma from three tables down. "That's a great question! Because it's just a close community, you'll just be like 'Hey, Emily, Hey, Emily, Oh, wait, no.' "

Emily Jabbour smiles, part of her usually calm demeanor, although she's not without experience in rough political waters. She's known for quickly responding to requests on social media to address quality-of-life issues around town. But when she trades her part-time councilwoman mantle to become full-time mayor on Thursday afternoon, she'll be in charge of a city of 59,000 people, instead of picking and choosing her tasks.

This time last year — besides serving as a councilwoman — Jabbour was working full-time for the federal Administration of Children and Families as a social worker. She was laid off during the DOGE cuts, allowing her to pour herself into her mayoral campaign.

She ran against five other candidates, including three council members who were often at odds with Mayor Bhalla — an ally of Jabbour. The anti-Bhalla candidates split the vote, buoying Jabbour into a runoff election with Councilman Michael Russo (all of the candidates were Democrats in the non-partisan election). She beat Russo by 900 votes last month.

Now that she’s emerged from a year that included her layoff and heated campaign, how will she govern?

Jabbour, a married mother of two, sat down with Hoboken Patch to answer five questions before she begins her four-year term.

1. So what should people call you, especially if they're a long-time friend?

It is funny. Somebody asked me, "Is it Madam Mayor, is it Mrs. Mayor? Is it Ms. Mayor?" I don't know what the proper terminology is. I've been laughing at the concept of Madam Mayor. It makes me sound so fancy. I've clocked the difference between how people refer to me vs. Mayor [Ravi] Bhalla, and people call me 'Mayor Emily.' I think it makes me feel more familiar in a way that I like. It's representative of being more accessible. I think it's cute.

2. When did you realize you were going to run for mayor?

I probably never actually necessarily wanted to be mayor...that suggests a level of ambition I don't really have, but I do love how it felt to be an effective councilperson, connecting people with resources. Given my career history, I had an interest in problem-solving. When it became clear to me I could take everything I had learned as a councilperson, and call the shots a little bit more, get to a different level of authority...I've been solving problems for so long, you think about the system. I'm excited about the opportunity to change how the system works.

So...when did you know?

I know exactly when. When Ravi announced he was running for Congress [against Rob Menendez]. I found out about it on Twitter. That was the day I realized. I thought about it in the 'Sliding Doors' version of reality, where you go, 'If that is the thing that happens…and I'm council president,' because I was council president at the time. Would that mean I became acting mayor? And would I ever want to be the mayor?

3. You had to distance yourself from Mayor Ravi Bhalla at some point during the campaigns in order to seem more independent. Are you on speaking terms with him?

There were things that I think Mayor Bhalla did well and there are things I didn't agree with ...I believe strongly in the professionalism of giving people the courtesy of disagreeing in a way that's behind closed doors. It's professional; it's in the interest of a better end product to be constructive.... then it became important for me to publicly differentiate myself. We are on speaking terms. We're both at City Hall right now, which is a funny grey area to be in. I wish him well in his new role in the Assembly for sure.

I'm not a confrontational person for nature. Any time I try to criticize someone else, I do it very carefully. I think people don't like the toxicity of national politics. To have local politicians disagree in a hostile way, I don't think serves our community. There was one instance in which I issued a public statement about [demoted Fire Chief Brian] Crimmins and the mayor did issue a [negative] response to my statement. That was the first time I had that experience. READ MORE: Bhalla Blasts Russo And Jabbour For Backing Reinstatement Of Hoboken Fire Chief

Since you mentioned Chief Crimmins, will the city's legal action against him continue under you?

I'm getting up to speed as to where that case is. Since Chief Crimmins came back, we've had multiple conversations. I want to see that department move forward, and it was the right thing to do to reinstate him. That was what the court said to us.

4. Do you feel like you'll be able to mend fences with the opposition [three political opponents on the council ran for mayor] or are things too fractured right now?

I've met with almost all of my council colleagues at this point, new and current. I’ll say, the conversation I've had with all my colleagues on the council is, I would like to create a more inclusive, well-informed, transparent conversation across the administration and the council. I have felt the disconnect in terms of getting things done because of a lack of transparency, and I would like to see that change. I think we all are responsible for upping our game when it comes to how we behave as elected officials. And it's something I've talked to everyone about. I think what people want now from us is not to have a combative back-and-forth.

When the campaigns were done, it was nice that we all came together. I appreciated the spirit of the events that Councilwoman [Tiffanie] Fisher has been putting together. Because it was nice to be with people who've never talked before.

I had a conversation with someone that night [Fisher’s recurring Friday-night meetup] who said, 'You know, you're so different than I thought.' I remember going [laughing], 'I don't know what that means, but it's good that I was here!' All of us put out different narratives. I hope I get the benefit of being a new mayor in the same way. I want to give people on the council the chance to work differently, even people I've worked with over the last eight years.

5. What is your biggest hope coming into office?

I'm hoping to really change the community's relationship with City Hall, not just for me personally as mayor, but to understand how local government works. I just don't think there's been a good understanding of how your tax dollars work, who does that fund. I'm really interested in, I think, shining a light on important people in this community who've been overlooked and create a more accessible sense about what the city of Hoboken is.

At that point, the interview had to conclude because Jabbour was late for a meeting nearby at City Hall — and was likely to get interrupted by more well-wishers on her five-block bike ride.

Jabbour will take the oath of office at 1 p.m. Thursday. Find out more about that here.

What are your hopes for the new mayor? What needs to change in Hoboken? Email Hoboken Patch.