Ravi Bhalla was elected Hoboken’s 39th Mayor on November 7, 2017. Born and raised in New Jersey, Mayor Bhalla is a 17 year resident of Hoboken and eight year member of the Hoboken City Council.
He received his undergraduate education from the University of California at Berkeley, where he received a B.A. in Political Psychology. Upon graduation, he attended the London School of Economics (L.S.E.) in the United Kingdom and received a Master of Science degree in Public Administration and Public Policy, and also earned a Juris Doctor Degree from Tulane Law School in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Ravi first set his roots in Hoboken at the age of 26, a bachelor fresh out of law school starting his first job at a small law firm in Newark, New Jersey. Ravi earned national recognition in the New York Times for his legal advocacy after suffering a violation of his own constitutional and civil rights during a jail visit to a client. The incident motivated Ravi to lead a successful campaign to reform the federal government’s visitation policies at correctional facilities nationwide.
Ravi married his wife Bindya, and they had two children, Arza and Shahbegh. It was during this time that Hoboken’s local government was in dire straits. He observed and witnessed mismanaged government at the local level, including a government budget that was underfunded and overspent by $12 million, a state takeover of Hoboken, and a 70% spike in municipal taxes in a single year.
Ravi served as Council President from 2011-2012 and Council Vice-President from 2010-2011 and 2013-2014.
Ravi and his wife Bindya reside on Garden Street with their two children, Arza Kaur, age 10 and Shabegh Singh, age 5.
