New Jersey Gold Coast Summit

Ravi S. Bhalla was elected Hoboken’s 39th Mayor on November 7, 2017. Born and raised in New Jersey, Mayor Bhalla is an 18 year resident of Hoboken and 8 year member of the Hoboken City Council. In his first few months in office, Mayor Bhalla has focused on improving the quality of life for Hoboken residents while prioritizing fiscal responsibility. He introduced a City budget with no municipal tax increase, maintained the City’s AA+ credit rating, continues to oversee the rehabilitation of Washington Street, formed a Homelessness task force, is pursuing affordable housing strategies, completed the design phase of Northwest Resiliency Park, secured more than $1 million in state transportation funding, and signed executive orders to expand parental leave benefits, invest in the arts, and protect the civil rights of immigrants and the LGBTQ community. Mayor Bhalla first set his roots in Hoboken at the age of 26, a bachelor fresh out of law school starting his first job at a small law firm in Newark, New Jersey. Mayor Bhalla earned national recognition in the New York Times for his legal advocacy after suffering a violation of his own constitutional and civil rights during a jail visit to a client. The incident motivated Mayor Bhalla to lead a successful campaign to reform the federal government’s visitation policies at correctional facilities nationwide. It was during this time that Hoboken’s local government was in dire straits. Mayor Bhalla observed and witnessed mismanaged government at the local level, including a government budget that was underfunded and overspent by $12 million, a state takeover of Hoboken, and a 70% spike in municipal taxes in a single year. These dire conditions motivated him to get off the sidelines and seek to reform city government by running for City Council in 2009. During this election, Mayor Bhalla was the highest vote-getter as a first time candidate, and remained on the City Council for 2 terms, from 2008 to 2017. During this time, Mayor Bhalla served as Council President from 2010-2011 and 2013-2014, and Council Vice-President from 2012-2013. Mayor Bhalla received his undergraduate education from the University of California at Berkeley, where he received a B.A. in Political Psychology. Upon graduation, he attended the London School of Economics (L.S.E.) in the United Kingdom and received a Master of Science degree in Public Administration and Public Policy, and also earned a Juris Doctor Degree from Tulane Law School in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mayor Bhalla and his wife Bindya reside on Garden Street with their two children, Arza Kaur, age 11 and Shabegh Singh, age 6.

Council President Rolando R. Lavarro, Jr. was elected for a second term as Councilman-At-Large on June 11, 2013. He was voted in for a two-year term as Council President by the newly sworn in Municipal Council on July 1, 2013. Originally elected via a special election on November 8, 2011, he was sworn in on November 21, 2011, becoming the first Asian American in the history of Jersey City to serve on the Municipal Council. Council President Lavarro grew up in the Greenville section of Jersey City where he still resides with his wife and child. He is the son of doctors Rizalina and Rolando Lavarro, Sr., who immigrated in the late 1960s to the United States from the Philippines. After attending St. Paul’s Grammar School in Greenville, Rolando graduated from St. Peter’s Preparatory High School in downtown Jersey City. He went on to earn his Bachelor of Science in Marketing from New York University’s Leonard Stern School of Business. Prior to serving on the City Council, Rolando was the Director of Constituent Services for Assemblyman (now State Senator) Robert Gordon in New Jersey’s 38th Legislative District and was an Aide to Councilwoman Mary Donnelly in Jersey City’s Ward B. For a decade, he worked with World Education Services, helping immigrants and foreign students to transition to the United States by providing evaluations of foreign academic credentials. Rolando is Chair of the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency Board and Chairperson of the Jersey City Municipal Alliance to Combat Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. Councilman Lavarro is committed to building coalitions and working with diverse groups and organizations in the community. His legislative priorities include crime and public safety and implementing a city budget that prioritizes the needs of Jersey City residents, businesses, and stakeholders.