Hoboken Mayor Releases Details About His Side Job

HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla has released details about his “of counsel agreement” with Lavery, Selvaggi, Abromitis & Cohen, P.C, a Hackettstown-based law firm serving clients in Sussex, Warren and Morris Counties.

• See related article: Hoboken Council Members Criticize Mayor For Juggling 2 Jobs

Last week – following criticism from several City Council members about his ability to juggle a side job and still work as a “full-time mayor” – Bhalla released the following statement:

“In keeping with my commitment to open government and transparency, today I am publicly providing my “of counsel agreement” with Lavery, Selvaggi, Abromitis & Cohen, P.C, a small Hackettstown-based law firm serving clients in Sussex, Warren and Morris Counties. While there is no requirement that I release this contract, I believe it is important to go the extra mile and provide robust public disclosure.

“As the agreement outlines and as I announced last week, I will serve in a limited ‘of counsel’ advisory role. I will not be practicing law, but rather will serve as a resource to other attorneys at the firm, providing advice from time to time. I particularly look forward to being a mentor to young lawyers at the firm. The arrangement will be periodically reviewed by corporation counsel to ensure that no conflicts emerge. This is similar to my recent decision to continue my term as a Trustee of the Association of the Federal Bar of New Jersey.

“These limited engagements in no way interfere with my full-time commitment to the City of Hoboken. I am often the first one to arrive in the office and the last one to leave. I assure you that will not change. I know it takes a full time Mayor to secure $1 million of state funding for transportation projects—a significant upgrade over previous years. It takes a full time Mayor to upgrade Madison St. Park and successfully crack down on those bars that flout our laws and harm our quality of life. It takes a full time Mayor to ensure that the City garnered a AA+ bond rating. And it takes a full time Mayor to win the battle against the Christie Administration on Union Dry Dock. These are just some of the accomplishments of my first 6 weeks in office.

“While I am proud of what we have accomplished in 6 short weeks, we could get so much more done with a Council that worked cooperatively with me to move Hoboken forward. It is now more than 3 months since the November election. It is time to put it behind us and work for the best interests of the City we all love. I know if we do so, Hoboken’s best days are yet to come.”

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