Ravinder Bhalla is an Indian-American born in New Jersey who was endorsed by current Moyor Dawn Zimmer who had announced that she will not seek a third term in office. According to , Bhalla who serves on the City Council, claimed the victory at Moran's Pub on Garden Street surrounded by dozens of his supporters, as well as his friends and family.
"Thank you for having faith in me, for having faith in our community, faith in our state, and faith in our country; this is what America is all about," he told the packed bar. "We've been through a bruising campaign... but now is the time we come together and see who we can work with to bring this city forward."
Source: Twiiter
He bested a six-person field of challengers that included council members Michael DeFusco and Jennifer Giattino, as well as Hudson County Freeholder Anthony Romano.
Days before the New Jersey elections, Ravinder Bhalla was targeted in a racist attack when someone distributed fliers around Hoboken reading, “Don’t let TERRORISM take over our country”. The fliers also featured a photo to Ravinder Bhalla wearing a turban like he always does as a hallmark of his faith.
The community celebrated Bhalla’s election on Tuesday night.
“Given how much we’ve endured in this country, and frankly the fact that we have been here for more than a century now in the U.S. and have felt largely ignored and neglected as a minority community, this is for us a signal shift, where we feel like we’re getting on the map. This is a major development for us,” Simran Jeet Singh, a religion fellow at the Sikh Coalition, said. “And it comes in a context where, like many minority groups, we’re facing xenophobia.”
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