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| Ravinder Bhalla |
NEW JERSEY: Attorney Ravinder Bhalla, who currently serves on the Hoboken, New Jersey's city council, formally launched his bid for a state assembly seat May 24 at the Hudson Tavern.
New Jersey's primaries are on June 7, so Bhalla has about 10 days to sell voters in Hoboken, Weehawken, West New York, Union City and parts of Jersey City on his platform of fiscal prudence, transparency in government, responsible development, and alternatives to high property taxes.
Bhalla is running in the newly carved-out 33rd district, which was re-drawn earlier this year after U.S. Census data was released. He is running against Democrat incumbents Ruben Ramos and Sean Conners and filed his papers April 11.
"As an attorney, I am intimately familiar with state laws and how they impact the lives of ordinary people," said Bhalla in an interview with India-West the evening before he launched his campaign.
New Jersey has the highest property taxes in the country, asserted Bhalla, stating that state and income taxes should be raised to offset lower property taxes. Bhalla – who calls himself an "independent Democrat" - vehemently raised his objections to New Jersey Governor Chris Christie's $1.3 million cuts in the education budget. The New Jersey Supreme Court May 23 ordered Christie to restore $500 million in funding to the state's 31 poorest schools. "The governor is balancing the budget on the backs of working-class people," asserted Bhalla, noting that Christie has steadfastly refused to adopt a "millionaire's tax."
Bhalla also wants to spur jobs creation and strengthen the state's hate crime laws. He believes he can win the 33rd district – in its new form – because of the large percentage of Asian Americans and young professionals who live there.
The New Jersey native — born and raised in Passaic — has lived in Hoboken for 10 years with his wife Navneet, who works with South Asian Americans Leading Together, and their four-year-old daughter Arza.
Bhalla won a four-year Hoboken city council seat in 2009, campaigning on a platform of lower property taxes and calling for a moratorium on all new development projects. He has received strong endorsement from Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer, who stood beside him May 24 as he launched his state assembly campaign.
"We need someone to really represent Hoboken on the state level," Zimmer told India-West, adding that the tiny city currently lacks representation in state politics.
"We've gone through some real fiscal challenges in the city, said Zimmer, noting that police and fire department budgets have had to be cut. "Ravi has always stood by me and said 'Look, we need to come to the center of the room.' He will do us right in the statehouse from a fiscal point of view." San Francisco Republican Party chairwoman Harmeet Dhillon has known Bhalla since they were both teenagers attending Sikh camp together. Though he is a Democrat and she is Republican, Dhillon told India-West she nevertheless ardently supports Bhalla's campaign. "Ravi is an independent Democrat, not beholden to labor interests, and in favor of anti-corruption, which is huge in that part of the country," said Dhillon, pointing to Bhalla's platform of lowering taxes and less regulation, which she said was in line with conservative values. Dhillon's sister Parveen and Nitasha Sawhney are co-hosting a fundraiser for Bhalla on Memorial Day, May 30, in Oakland, Calif., from 10-1 pm Additional details about the event can be obtained by writing tonitashasawhney@gmail.com.
Bhalla is the son of Montville, New Jersey residents Ranbir and Harminder Singh. His parents own and manage Lumenarc, Inc., which manufactures high pressure sodium street lamps, invented by Ranbir, a physicist. Bhalla completed his undergraduate studies at UC Berkeley with a B.S. in political psychology. He then attended the London School of Economics, where he completed a masters in public administration and public policy. He received his law degree from Tulane Law School in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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