{"id":391532,"date":"2025-11-20T05:22:25","date_gmt":"2025-11-20T05:22:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/391532\/"},"modified":"2025-11-20T05:22:25","modified_gmt":"2025-11-20T05:22:25","slug":"letter-heres-why-im-not-supporting-councilwoman-jabbour-for-hoboken-mayor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/391532\/","title":{"rendered":"LETTER: Here’s why I\u2019m not supporting Councilwoman Jabbour for Hoboken mayor"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a letter to the editor, Hoboken 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher outlines why she\u2019s supporting 3rd Ward Councilman Mike Russo over Councilwoman-at-Large Emily Jabbour.<\/p>\n

For the past 10 months, I\u2019ve talked with Hoboken neighbors about what matters most: safety, parking, affordability, taxes, and a city government that functions.<\/p>\n

After almost a year running for mayor, nearly a decade on the City Council, and 23 years in real estate and finance, I understand exactly what the next mayor is walking into.<\/p>\n

During the election, I was asked \u2014 and shared in my newsletters \u2014 my views on all the major candidates.<\/p>\n

I followed up with an op-ed here in HCV on Mike Russo that seems to confuse those who never saw my critique of Emily (newsletter and two mailers<\/a>), where I raised concerns about her blind support for Mayor Bhalla and his ethically troubling agenda, her divisive approach to politics, and her ability to meet the challenges Hoboken faces.<\/p>\n

My endorsement of Mike Russo is not a flip. It is a choice between two candidates I had concerns about for different reasons.<\/p>\n

Hoboken can\u2019t afford four more years of the same \u2014 which is exactly what we will get with Emily: divisive politics, headline-driven leadership, under-managed operations, no real strategy for Hoboken\u2019s future, and a consistent avoidance of the tough issues.<\/p>\n

Haven\u2019t we had enough?<\/p>\n

My position hasn\u2019t changed. Hoboken needs a mayor who puts residents and safety first in every decision \u2014 not politics.<\/p>\n

Someone who understands operations and the budget, can lead on the hardest issues, and can manage growth while making tough choices for our future.<\/p>\n

Based on eight years of working alongside Emily, the concerns in her record are real, and I believe Mike is the better choice to meet those needs and the moment Hoboken is facing.<\/p>\n

This isn\u2019t personal. I like Emily, and we worked side by side at the Hoboken Food Pantry every two weeks for years. But liking someone doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re prepared to unite a city or run one with complex operational needs. Her strength is constituent response and facilitating fixes \u2014 but small steps don\u2019t add up to the big actions she believes they do. Hoboken needs a mayor who can do both: help residents day to day and\u00a0take on the hardest operational challenges. And simply saying you\u2019re trustworthy doesn\u2019t make it so.<\/p>\n

Remember: Emily rubber-stamped the entire Bhalla agenda for eight years \u2014 even when decisions weakened transparency, accountability, or public trust. There was no legislative independence. No questioning. No scrutiny. From CLEAR cameras (which she still oddly defends) to rushed ordinances without public input, she followed rather than led on nearly every major issue.<\/p>\n

When the mayor broke a redevelopment contract in 2021 to avoid a political opponent in his re-election \u2014 leaving taxpayers exposed to $50\u2013100 million in potential damages \u2014 she didn\u2019t ask a single hard question. When the settlement the mayor negotiated to protect himself came forward, dramatically increasing density on the western edge, she provided cover for him, approved it without hesitation, and moved on.<\/p>\n

She led the effort to weaken Hoboken\u2019s pay-to-play laws, allowing more political money into local elections without transparency.<\/p>\n

She put politics ahead of your\u00a0safety when she worked to defeat the Tests & Vests ordinance I co-authored with Councilman Paul Presinzano to address reckless e-bike riding \u2014 the top concern we hear from residents citywide \u2014 simply because she and the mayor didn\u2019t want a political opponent to get credit.<\/p>\n

She repeatedly joined the mayor in deepening the divide between district and charter schools for political gain because the district had more voting parents \u2014 an unnecessary, harmful wedge with lasting damage.<\/p>\n

She spoke out against hate only when it was politically convenient, not when the target was a political opponent.<\/p>\n

She has consistently shown she represents only those who share her political beliefs, alienating nearly a quarter of our population.<\/p>\n

She has also shifted positions when politically convenient. In 2022, she nominated Mike Russo for Council President<\/a>\u00a0and said, \u201che\u2019s changed.\u201d<\/p>\n

If she believes his past is disqualifying, that was the moment to say so. She didn\u2019t then, nor in this recent election.\u00a0 That\u2019s opportunism, not principle.<\/p>\n

And beyond these decisions, Emily has been silent on the hardest parts of governing. She has never addressed parking or enforcement or led on public safety.<\/p>\n

As a matter of fact, when more than 200 residents came to City Hall demanding action on safety after a nanny was beaten in broad daylight, Emily turned to me and asked, \u201cDo these people really think Hoboken is unsafe?\u201d\u00a0 Yes. They did \u2014 and many still do.<\/p>\n

And she has never negotiated a major redevelopment or pushed back against a developer \u2014 despite what her mailers say. And she says almost nothing in subcommittees that manage infrastructure, road closures, capital projects, or safety.<\/p>\n

Hoboken needs a hands-on mayor, and Emily has been hands-off for eight years. That is not going to change in year nine.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, she continues to be funded and managed by Bhalla insiders \u2014 the same architects of the politics Hoboken needs to move beyond.<\/p>\n

So yes \u2014 I wrote an op-ed about Mike, rooted in facts. Just like this one is.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, to me this runoff is about who can govern this city on day one. Who can tackle safety, parking, enforcement, taxes, and growth. Who understands the job. And who brings the right change to put residents first and bring our community together instead of extending the headline-driven, divisive politics of the past eight years.<\/p>\n

For 10 years, I\u2019ve worked with Mike on Hoboken\u2019s toughest issues.\u00a0 He\u2019s loud \u2013 but I\u2019ll take loud over divisive any day of the week.\u00a0 He challenges the status quo, asks hard questions and understands how this city actually works, and doesn\u2019t.\u00a0 And I know I can work with him to take on the biggest challenges Hoboken faces.<\/p>\n

Based upon everything I have seen firsthand \u2013 and with the real possibility of a fully independent City Council that will support good policy and hold he and his administration accountable \u2014 Mike Russo is the better choice for Hoboken.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not a flip. It\u2019s a choice between two candidates. It\u2019s experience. It\u2019s putting Hoboken first.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In a letter to the editor, Hoboken 2nd Ward Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher outlines why she\u2019s supporting 3rd Ward…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":391533,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5122],"tags":[173158,5229,173159,7281,186196,405,403,5226,5225,5228,5227,186197,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-391532","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-russo","13":"tag-new-york","14":"tag-new-york-city","15":"tag-newyork","16":"tag-newyorkcity","17":"tag-ny","18":"tag-nyc","19":"tag-tiffanie-fisher","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\/115580354364950957","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391532","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=391532"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391532\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391533"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}