So it’s gone pretty much the way people thought it would in Hoboken, with people throwing strategic punches to get their more obvious rivals off balance in order to capitalize on base-building. Today, Council President Jen Giattino ally Tiffanie Fisher went off on Councilman Ravi Bhalla, even as Councilman Mike DeFusco inveighed against Hudson County Freeholder Anthony Romano.

Giattino and Bhalla continue to struggle to box each other out to control the so-called reformer constituency cultivated by retiring Mayor Dawn Zimmer.  “Ravi is an aspiring career politician and there is nothing wrong with that,” Fisher wrote. “We want and need people to want to represent us. However, he is using Hoboken as a stepping stone at a time when we need a Hoboken-focused mayor.”

While Giattino tried to rough up Ravi, Team DeFusco thundered against Romano. The freeholder is the most obviously identifiable born and raised candidate in the field, and DeFusco – who occupies no natural home and maintains a leg in the reformer and born and raised camps – needs to harvest from Romano’s comfort zone. He feels the need to push in that direction especially with Giattino and Bhalla already bogged down in reformer country. In response to not finding an ELEC report filed today, DeFusco went off on the freeholder otherwise known as Stick.

“This latest example of Anthony Romano ignoring campaign finance law and denying Hoboken voters the right to see who is funding his campaigns is simply outrageous and should be disqualifying for his candidacy,” the candidate said, following up an earlier criticism of Romano simultaneously seeking two offices: mayor and freeholder.

According to today’s ELEC reports (of the one’s completed and submitted), DeFusco leads with the most money in the bank.

He has $80,417 cash on hand ($141K both accounts).

Bhalla has $21,516.

Giattino has $22,660. Her team reports $59,773.