DeFusco Responds to Bhalla Statement on Voter Fraud

Hoboken, NJ – Councilman Mike DeFusco is releasing the following statement in response to Mayor Ravi Bhalla’s unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud after the City Council overrode the Mayor’s veto of the runoff referendum:

“This false, disgusting smear is the latest proof that Mayor Bhalla is totally disinterested in working with the City Council to bring Hoboken together and is instead intent on wasting taxpayer resources on completely unsubstantiated, divisive political attacks. A Mayor in the position of taking office with less than a third of the vote should be focused on reaching out to his opponents and finding common ground, but sadly that is not the case here. For a mayor to use a taxpayer-funded spokesman to spread lies and deceit without any credible evidence borders on libel and together they are attempting to shift the conversation away from the core issue, which is the value of runoff elections. Mayor Bhalla should be ashamed of himself for engaging in a Trump-like level of deceit and sleaze that is doing nothing to heal the wounds in our community and is instead widening the political divide in Hoboken. That’s why runoff elections are important and why voters should decide this critical issue — so that the public can trust that their elected representatives will have majority support and will be able to pursue their agenda without resorting to childish name calling to activate a small base. Mayor Bhalla should be using his first months in office to solve the problems our city faces like fixing Washington Street, not on petty political drama.”