Mayoral candidate Dini Ajmani sprays lead on city council opponents

Hoboken mayoral candidate, Dini Ajmani, a primarily self-funded candidate for Hoboken mayor is making a pre-Labor Day push with a direct mail campaign letter torching her four mayoral opponents, all present members of the City Council.

The letter hit Hoboken mail boxes last week centered on moderate and right-of-center voters. 

The campaign mailer, with no return address and appearing without letterhead, sprayed lead on the City Council for Hoboken's poor financial condition created by "smoke and mirrors." The quote is attributed to former business administrator, Jason Freeman, who served under the outgoing mayor, Ravi Bhalla, and points to years-long financial malfeasance.

The letter applies a broad brush equally to all City Council members. Some will be less than enamored with such equal application of blame since they will note, Ravi Bhalla and Jason Freeman were less than forthcoming with the financial data even when requested. 

The letter references Freeman as outgoing but his odd departure came in the spring with an announcement he would return to non-profit activity for employment. None of this will sour those who don't follow any of this closely, nor the budget numbers.

Ravi Bhalla's budget continued in a line of spendthrift budgets, this one presented with a 7% tax increase. Approval was unlikely as the Ravibot council votes lacked a majority with Councilmembers Emily Jabbour and Joe Quintero, typical rubber-stamps for Bhalla unable to persuade council colleagues to go along. 

Spending reductions led by Councilman Paul Presinanzo and Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher saw two different packages cutting seven plus figures. In the end, Fisher would obtain enough votes working with Councilman Jim Doyle in reducing the tax increase to 4.5%. 

The reduction however doesn't address concerns about the structural budget problems Ravi Bhalla has handed Hoboken residents. Some are pointing to the next budget being set up for a double-digit tax increase after yet another questionable Bhalla action: an eight year police union contract. Two council members voted to abstain, Presinzano and Fisher who pondered why an unprecedented eight year contract was being voted on in the summer on behalf of a lame duck mayor.

Ajmani seeks to utilize the letter as a launching pad to differentiate her mayoral candidacy. It's uncertain if it will gain traction among the moderate voters who may place Hoboken's fiscal situation high on the list of their concerns.

Hoboken Election 2025 Note: Many challenges lie ahead for Ajmani's candidacy. Targeting moderate voters can be effective for those who know less but Jason Freeman left the Bhalla Administration last spring and the numerical references are dated with the City Council voting last week to finalize the budget with a reduced 4.5% tax increase.

Prior to her mayoral candidacy. Ajmani was a 2021 city council candidate for Ravi Bhalla before quickly dropping out threes days after being announced on his re-election slate. Pointing to accepting another position, there's also the family's direct donations to Ravi Bhalla in the thousands of dollars. The exact amount is TBD. 

On the plus side, Ajmani is not weighed down by a voting record on the City Council. She came out against the recent mammoth Garage B development noting it could hinder the City's fiscal situation. This won't endear her to the single issue voters who seek more subsidized housing but it could find resonance with those who are displeased with the Bhalla development back room dealing. 

Last, Dawn Zimmer and her husband, the oft-recognized shadow mayor, Stan, appear to be in Ajmani's corner. It's a continuation of the Zimmertini stew detonating all final vestiges of the Reform Movement. 

In 2017, Zimmer introduced Ravi Bhalla as her would-be successor leaving many questions in what transpired then and since. Considered the unofficial end of Reform, Ravi Bhalla was viewed as the "weak link" of a five-member council majority and his problematic ethics problems made the news more than once. One statewide action saw the New Jersey Supreme Court censuring his law license.

That little fact only came out into the public square after Bhalla was elected mayor.