![\"\"](\"http:\/\/hudsoncountyview.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/Mike-DeFusco-e1583180968284.png\")
<\/a><\/p>\nDear Editor,<\/p>\n
Tomorrow, Hoboken voters will make an important choice about the city\u2019s future. As someone who had the privilege of serving on the City Council for eight years, I care deeply about where we go next.<\/p>\n
When I first ran for public office, I didn\u2019t expect to win. I was a newcomer challenging a 21-year incumbent \u2014 a true David-versus-Goliath race \u2014 but I believed Hoboken could do better. That belief carried me to victory and guided my time in office.<\/p>\n
I didn\u2019t run against anyone; I ran for something \u2014 for transparency, fiscal responsibility, and a city government that listens to its residents, not just its insiders.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m proud of the progress we made. As I watch the transformation of our train terminal into a mixed-use, European-style market \u2014 an idea I was told was impossible \u2014 I\u2019m reminded how important it is to lead, not follow.<\/p>\n
Building consensus to make that project real proved what Hoboken can achieve when we think boldly and work together.<\/p>\n
But let\u2019s be honest \u2014 no one can look at Hoboken today and say it\u2019s living up to its potential. Parks that were once safe spaces are now places where a grandfather and a nanny were attacked, and where children have found empty drug bags.<\/p>\n
Budgets keep growing with little to show for it. Businesses are struggling to open. Transit remains unprepared for the population growth already here.<\/p>\n
And a lack of creativity in city government has left us stuck in a status quo that wasn\u2019t acceptable ten years ago \u2014 and isn\u2019t acceptable now.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why this election matters. Councilperson Emily Jabbour has been at the center of Hoboken\u2019s political power for eight years.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s had full access to City Hall and the administration. Now, as she seeks higher office, she\u2019s trying to distance herself from Mayor Ravi Bhalla \u2014 the very person who introduced her to politics and whose administration she\u2019s supported for nearly a decade.<\/p>\n
Reinvention may be convenient in an election year, but it raises serious questions about trust.<\/p>\n
Equally concerning is the political apparatus behind her campaign. A single-candidate super PAC, \u201cAmerica\u2019s Promise\u201d, was formed to support Mayor Bhalla\u2019s unsuccessful congressional run.<\/p>\n
That PAC was run by the same treasurer now leading \u201cStronger Communities\u201d \u2014 the super PAC spending heavily to elect Councilwoman Jabbour.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the same team, the same money, and trust me, will end with the same results. This doesn\u2019t look like a new beginning \u2014 it looks like more of the same.<\/p>\n
If Hoboken truly wants change, it must move beyond the old alliances that have defined our politics for too long \u2014 beyond Ravi Bhalla and Emily Jabbour \u2014 and toward a new generation of leadership with fresh ideas, new energy, and the independence to put people before politics.<\/p>\n
There are four other candidates in this race, all of whom would bring something different and give our city a real opportunity to start fresh.<\/p>\n
Michael DeFusco
Former Hoboken City Council Member (2016-2023)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a letter to the editor, former Hoboken 1st Ward Councilman Mike DeFusco outlines why he believes tomorrow\u2019s…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":354531,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[173158,5229,173159,7281,173160,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,173161,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-354530","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-new-york","8":"tag-2025-hoboken-mayoral-race","9":"tag-america","10":"tag-emily-jabbour","11":"tag-letters-to-the-editor","12":"tag-mike-defusco","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-city","15":"tag-newyork","16":"tag-newyorkcity","17":"tag-ny","18":"tag-nyc","19":"tag-ravi-bhalla","20":"tag-united-states","21":"tag-united-states-of-america","22":"tag-unitedstates","23":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","24":"tag-us","25":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115490363490790778","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354530","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354530"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354530\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/354531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354530"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354530"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354530"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}