Hoboken's Bhalla And Jersey City's Brennan To Run On Assembly Ticket

HUDSON COUNTY, NJ — With the race for two local Assembly seats heating up, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla announced Monday that he and Jersey City candidate Katie Brennan will run as a ticket to vie for the Democratic nomination in June.

Several candidates have announced their candidacy for the Assembly seats, including Hoboken Library Director Jennie Pu, who's running as a Democrat with Jersey City Director of Buildings and Maintenance Crystal Fonseca.

A campaign spokesperson for Bhalla and Brennan said that the two "progressive reformers will run on the same slate, independent of any political boss or machine, to fight for housing, public transit, the climate, and government accountability."

The campaign announced on Tuesday that they received the endorsements of Hoboken City Council President Jim Doyle and Vice President Phil Cohen. Both are longtime Bhalla supporters.

According to a release from the ticket announcement, "The decision comes after both candidates had previously set out to run individually, a stance they were forced to reconsider following the passage of the new ballot redesign law (A5116/S4142) that puts candidates running without a slate at a disadvantage. Katie Brennan and Ravi Bhalla each testified against the ballot redesign legislation, calling for fair ballots that treat each candidate the same."

Brennan said, "This puts us in the best position to win while maintaining our independence.”

“Katie and I share similar visions for what Jersey City and Hoboken need in Trenton,” said Bhalla. “We’re both committed to making government work for the people, and we each have our own record of getting things done inside and outside of government."

Brennan is a housing policy expert. Read more about her here.

The candidates will hold joint meet-and-greet events in Jersey City and Hoboken later this month, they said.

The 32nd legislative district includes Hoboken and the Downtown, Journal Square, and Heights neighborhoods of Jersey City.

The primary elections will be held on June 10, with the general election in early November.