Does Hoboken Councilwoman's New Job Run Afoul Of State Law?

HOBOKEN, NJ — As a November election looms in which Hoboken residents must choose a mayor and three council people, Mayor Ravi Bhalla has announced one of the council members who was potentially up for re-election will get a new job overseeing affordable housing after her term ends.

This means that Councilwoman Vanessa Falco — who in 2017 ran for council separately from Mayor Ravi Bhalla's candidates — won't run again this year. She is expected to take the new job dealing with local public housing issues in January.

Two Bhalla critics on the council have found the job suspect, pointing to a state law that says that officials in an authority have to wait at least a year after their term ends to take a job at the same authority.

But does that law apply to Falco's situation?

Councilwoman Tiffanie Fisher says that either way, the promised job helps ensure that Falco won't run against Bhalla's candidates this year.

Fisher and Councilwoman Jennifer Giattino said in a press release on Wednesday, "On August 5th, Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla publicly announced his offer of future employment for a newly created role to a sitting Hoboken city councilwoman who was potentially opposing his slate in the upcoming general election."

The city announced Falco's new job — overseeing a new city division — in a press release last week: "Today, Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla announced the creation of the new Division of Housing within the Department of Community Development that will be led by Councilwoman Vanessa Falco. The new division will provide greater accessibility and more resources to address the city’s affordable housing needs."

Fisher and Giattino did call Falco "a respected Hoboken councilwoman who has been an important voice and advocate for affordable housing." But they said the job offer is problematic.

"Given the job is not guaranteed, it could be construed that she needs to vote the way Ravi wants her to in order to ensure she has the job," Fisher said. "[It] compromises every vote."

Fisher and Giattino cited state laws about local government, including: "No independent local authority shall, for a period of one year next subsequent to the termination of office of a member of that authority ... employ for compensation, except pursuant to open competitive examination in accordance with Title 11A of the New Jersey Statutes and the rules and regulations promulgated pursuant thereto, any former member of that authority."

The pair have requested that the attorney general and Department of Community Affairs, which oversees local governments, look into the matter.

Falco has advocated for more affordable housing in Hoboken. Last year, she pledged to make affordable housing a priority in 2021 so that longtime residents are not forced out of town by rising prices.

Falco said in a statement this week, "The press release by Councilwoman Fisher and Giattino unfortunately did not come as a surprise to me. Affordable housing has been severely ignored for far too long and they will take any and every opportunity to attack the mayor and create false narratives that seek to diminish the efforts of his administration."

Fisher and Giattino's release said, “Predatory and unethical politics has been the hallmark of Mayor Bhalla. Unfortunately, a respected Hoboken councilwoman who has been an important voice and advocate for affordable housing and those who are most in need in our community, was on the receiving end this time.”

On Wednesday, three council members who frequently ally themselves with Bhalla — who himself is up for re-election in November — issued a release in response to Giattino and Fisher, noting Falco's qualifications but not addressing the legal questions.

"Councilmember Falco has been the leading voice for affordable housing in the city of Hoboken these past four years," wrote Councilwoman Emily Jabbour, Councilman Phil Cohen, and Councilman James Doyle. They called Giattino and Fisher's comments "disappointing" and said, "Unfortunately, we have come to expect this type of behavior from Councilmembers Giattino and Fisher."

Those three council members have collectively issued four press releases in the last four months about Councilman Michael DeFusco, who is a Bhalla critic, in which they raised questions about matters they acknowledged had been going on for some time. When asked this week how their four releases about DeFusco differed from Giattino and Fisher asking questions about Falco and the new job, Jabbour said her allies' releases asked "legtimate questions ... These are far different matters than a meritless and baseless claim to attack the reputation of the mayor and a respected councilmember."

Election In Three Months

In November, the Hoboken mayoral seat and three seats on the nine-member council are up for grabs. Hoboken elections are non-partisan, so rather than Democrats running against Republicans, mayor/council slates oppose each other.

So far, only Bhalla has announced a mayoral run. DeFusco had said he was considering it, and Councilman Michael Russo recently posted a Facebook poll asking residents whom they'd support.

Candidates must file to run by Aug. 30.

Regarding Fisher and Giattino's questions, city spokeswoman Marilyn Baer said Thursday, “It’s the city’s position that the appointment and announcement of the appointment are not in violation of New Jersey law and any insinuation that it is, is simply misguided nonsense. Mayor Bhalla is excited to work with Councilwoman Falco on good government initiatives. He hopes the rest of the council will do the same and put politics aside.”

Hoboken's affordable housing situation is complex, as the mile-square city contains more than a dozen affordable housing buildings dating back to the 1950s and 1960s, but some have long wait lists. As a result, those who need the units can't always access them. The city's affordable housing stock includes a variety of types: the federally subsidized low-income Hoboken Housing Authority projects, Section 8 voucher units, units in newer buildings awarded via lottery, and longtime moderate income buildings like Marine View Towers.

The Housing Authority buildings are overseen by an all-volunteer housing board and funded through the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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