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NRI Ravi Bhalla Sikh Mayor announces
Congressional bid from New Jersey
Los Angeles, Dec 14, 2023
NRIpress.club/Ramesh/ A.Gary Singh
Ravi Bhalla, the first Sikh Mayor of Hoboken City in New Jersey, has announced his candidacy from the US state’s 8th Congressional district.
Bhalla will challenge Representative Rob Menendez Jr, son of Senator Bob Menendez who is facing facing federal corruption charges, in the Democratic primary next year. If elected, he will be the first turbaned Sikh elected to US Congress. Bhalla 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”, according to his website profile.
He specialised as a civil rights lawyer, earning national recognition from 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........Read More Click Here
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Photoshopped image depict as racist Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla as an Arab dictator
The “Hudson Mile Square View” website of New Jersey, Hoboken ran an image of the mayor that resembles the lead character played by British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen in the comedy The Dictator. The photo was part of a story titled “Ravi Bhalla goes to the mattresses… for his tax increase!”
According to the website, the mayor had proposed a 3 percent tax increase, but the council slashed it to one percent. The story said now “the pushback from the mayor’s office to take back the tax reduction is underway.”
This is not the first time that Bhalla, the first Sikh mayor of Hoboken, has experienced racist attacks over his religion and turban. Soon after his election in 2017, racist flyers calling him a terrorist were circulated in the city.
THE BELOW ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN BY www.hobokenhorse.com: |
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Audrey Truschke, an assistant professor of history at Rutgers University and author of the book Aurangzeb, too, expressed her solidarity with Bhalla. She tweeted: “Disagreeing with politics is OK, discrimination and racism is not. Read this thread, and the thread it references at the end, to educate yourself about ongoing prejudice in America. Such hate will cease when we all reject bigotry.
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Nov. 08, 2017, become the first Sikh mayor of Hoboken
Hoboken, New Jersey, Nov. 08, 2017
Hoboken City Councilman Ravi Bhalla has become the first Sikh mayor of Hoboken. He was elected in the six-person mayoral race.
Ravi Bhalla told his supporters and media: "Thank you for having faith in me, for having faith in our community, faith in our state, and faith in our country; this is what America is all about. We've been through a bruising campaign... but now is the time we come together and see who we can work with to bring this city forward."
Growing up in New Jersey, Ravi Bhalla as the Sikh American politician told media he regularly faced bullying and harassment at public school because of his religion and the turban he wears as a sign of devotion to his faith.
Ravi Bhalla was endorsed by current Mayor Dawn Zimmer.......WHY?
Bhalla as Council man with Mayor Zimmer worked so hard to establish tangible reforms to the way government is run in Hoboken.
The City’s bond rating was improved from junk bond status in 2009 to AA+ in 2013, the second highest rating, and had a responsible cash surplus for the first time in years.
To secure the necessary funding and addition of 9 acres of open space, ensured our parks were built with detention systems to help alleviate flooding, voted to add progressive transportation options including corner cars and bike share
Played a large role in saving the hospital from closing in 2013, preserving more than 1,200 jobs and relieving taxpayers of a $52 million bond guarantee.
Ravi currently sits as a co-chair of the City’s Rebuild by Design project, in which the City was awarded $230 million to comprehensively protect Hoboken from storm surge events like Superstorm Sandy.
Ravi was only 26, a fresh lawyer, 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.
Don't let TERRORISM:
The race for City Hall took a turn last week when doctored campaign fliers began circulating attacking Bhalla with the message "Don't let TERRORISM take over our town!" Ravi Bhalla is no stranger to religious discrimination
Ravinder S. Bhalla as an attorney-at-law a lawyer, practices in the areas of employment law, commercial litigation, local government law and criminal defense in the federal and state courts of New Jersey and New York.
Got B.A. in Political Psychology from the University of California at Berkeley
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.
Earned a Juris Doctor Degree from Tulane Law School in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Ravi served as Council President of the City of Hoboken from 2011-2012, Council Vice-President from 2010-2011 & 2013-2014 and Chairman of the Hoboken Democratic Party from 2010-2011
Ravinder S. Bhalla married his wife Bindya,Navneet K. Patwalia Bhalla, and they have two children, Arza K. Bhalla and Shabegh S. Bhalla.
..........................................................…… Press Release by Aruna /Dave/ Gary Singh Grewal
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Indian American elected New Jersey town Mayor despite anti-Sikh propaganda
New York, Nov 8, 2017 : Two Indian American candidates have overcome bigoted propaganda to win local elections in New Jersey - one of them as the Mayor of Hoboken.Ravi Bhalla was elected in Tuesday's elections as the first Sikh Mayor of the town that is a suburb of New York City.
A lawyer, who was a member of the city council, Bhalla was the target of an anti-Sikh campaign pamphlet that said "Don't let TERRORISM take over our town!" next to a picture of the turbaned candidate.
Falguni Patel was elected to the Edison Township School Board. She and a Chinese American candidate, Jerry Shi, were targeted in mailings that said that they should both be deported and that "Chinese and Indians are taking over our town".
Bhalla and Patel were born in the United States.
The candidates received wide support and their election rivals condemned bigoted pamphlets.
The pamphlets against Bhalla were sent in the name of a rival candidate, who denied any involvement in it and called for a criminal investigation.
The postcards targeting Patel and Shi were sent anonymously.
"We won't let hate win," Bhalla tweeted after the pamphlets were circulated.
Many New Jersey Indian Americans are active in politics and have emerged as an influential voting bloc sought after by candidates.
The winner in the governor's race, Democrat Phil Murphy, was a favourite of Indian Americans who held a rally for him on Monday in Edison. He will succeed Chris Christie, a Republican close to President Donald Trump who could not run for re-election as governors are limited to two terms in the state.
Several Indian American candidates ran for local offices like school board, local council and borough councils, which are the springboard for higher positions, and many of them won.
The state has only one Indian American in the State Assembly, Raj Mukherji, who was elected in 2014 from Jersey City….IANS
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