Days After 'Gold Bar Bob' Barb, Hoboken Mayor Bhalla Challeges Menendez To 6 Debates

NORTH JERSEY, NJ — Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla, who has raised over $1 million to challenge incumbent Rep. Robert Menendez Jr. for Congress this year, issued a letter Thursday challenging the latter to six debates.

He said the debates should take place between the filing deadline on March 25 and the Democratic primary election in June. (Bhalla's letter is below.)

'Gold Bar Bob'

The release came days after the pair engaged in one of several recent wars of words online. On Friday, Bhalla referred to Menendez's senator father, who was indicted last year for taking bribes, as "Gold Bar Bob."

While Bhalla did not coin (or mint) the term, his comments, and Menendez's, earned a mix of cheers and jeers from followers on Twitter.

Former Hoboken Councilman Tony Soares commented that, to the average voter, both men sounded like the Meow Mix commercial, "Meow meow meow meow."

Since Bhalla's comments were uncharacteristically cutting, his campaign spokesman, Rob Horowitz, was asked on Thursday if Bhalla wrote the comment himself, or one of his consultants wrote it for him. Horowitz reponded simply, "He wrote it."

The County Line, Tammy Murphy, And Trump

The comment came amid a thread on Friday in which Bhalla Tweeted about the often controversial "county line" — a uniquely New Jersey method of fashioning primary ballots in a way that may benefit local party-favored candidates and their "bosses." Bhalla Tweeted that the line was "undemocratic, and driven by unelected county bosses."

Menendez then responded to Bhalla by saying, "After you called everyone in the district to try to get party support and failed, you pivoted. You will say anything to get elected. Your posturing is as believable as Donald Trump being a stable genius."

That was when Bhalla responded with, "Says the guy who weasled his way into Congress because your dad — Gold Bar Bob — threatened every leader in the county to support you..." and included a dictionary definition of nepotism.

"Both of you need to cut it out with the personal/unprofessional Twitter spats," wrote one commenter. "It doesn't make either of you look good."

Other followers said it wasn't smart to bring up nepotism with Gov. Phil Murphy's wife Tammy planning to run for office. And others noted that each candidate shouldn't attack a person of color, meaning, the other candidate.

Still others said they didn't like Menendez bringing former President Trump into the conversation. Bhalla has, in the past, done the same — since Trump likely matters to voters in the heavily Democratic 8th Congressional District.

New Jersey’s 8th Congressional District includes most of Hudson County (including Hoboken and Jersey City), as well as Elizabeth in Union County, and Newark's north and east wards.

See prior reporting on the campaign between both men here.

Bhalla's Release And Letter To Menendez

Ravi Bhalla today challenged US Representative Rob Menendez Jr. to a series of 6 debates between the filing deadline of March 25 and primary day on June 4th.

In a letter emailed to Rob Menendez Jr. at his campaign email address, as well as sent to his campaign twitter page Mayor Bhalla said, “The voters of the 8th district deserve to be able to make a direct side-by-side comparison of our views, records of accomplishments and fundamental differences. That is best accomplished by debates. Toward that end, I challenge you to a series of 6 debates between the filing deadline of March 25 and primary day.”

Ravi Bhalla has assigned his campaign manager Al Freedman to follow-up with the Menendez Jr. campaign to set a schedule and discuss the details.

The full text of the letter sent to Representative Menendez Jr. is provided below.

The Letter

Dear Congressman Menendez Jr.:

The voters of the 8th district deserve to be able to make a direct side-by-side comparison of our views, records of accomplishment, and fundamental differences. That is best accomplished through a series of debates. Toward that end, I challenge you to a total of 6 debates between the filing deadline of March 25 and primary day.

These debates should be hosted across the district, with priority given to televised and live-streamed options to reach the largest possible audience. My campaign manager, Al Freedman, will reach to discuss the details.

I look forward to a constructive and robust discussion that will better enable 8th district voters to make an informed choice.

Sincerely,

Mayor Ravi Bhalla