How Emily Jabbour Answered Questions: Hoboken Council Election Profiles

HOBOKEN, NJ — Ten candidates are running to fill three seats on the Hoboken City Council on Nov. 2, while Mayor Ravi Bhalla is running for re-election unopposed.

Below are incumbent Councilwoman Emily Jabbour's answers to questions Patch has sent to all 10 council candidates. Jabbour is running on a ticket endorsed by Mayor Bhalla.

Other candidates profiles are linked at the end of this story. Check them out to make your decision.

Readers should pay attention not just to which answers candidates give, but which parts of the question they avoid answering.

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Councilwoman Emily Jabbour

Your name: Emily Jabbour

Campaign website: www.emilyjabbourforhoboken.com

Age as of election day: 41

Party affiliation, even though Hoboken elections are non-partisan: Lifelong Democrat

Family information (Names, ages, or any details you wish to share): Husband Peter Jabbour and two children, Katherine (9) and Brynn (6) who are both at Brandt School

Does anyone in your family work in politics or government? Where?
I am a social worker with a policy focus, and employed full-time with the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) for the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation (OPRE) where I have worked for 15 years.

Educational background:
BA in Psychology from Boston College and a Master of Science in Social Work with a Law Minor from Columbia University School of Social Work

Occupation, years of experience: As noted above, I am a 15 year employee for HHS/ACF/OPRE as the Performance Officer for my agency. I am proud to be a social worker by training, with a focus on social welfare policy.

Previous or current elected or appointed offices: I am finishing my first four-year term as a Councilperson-at-Large for the City of Hoboken.

1. Why are you seeking elected office? (Please keep these answers to 250 words or we may automatically truncate your answer)

I am very grateful to have served Hoboken as a Councilperson for the past four years. I am seeking re-election because I am passionate about supporting initiatives that will continue to make Hoboken a better place to live and work. The COVID-19 pandemic was certainly not part of my plans for the first term, so I’m hopeful that as the City resumes regular operations, we will have the opportunity to refocus on other business. I am passionate about constituent services, pedestrian safety, open space, and supporting/protecting affordable housing options.

2. What is the single most pressing issue facing Hoboken, and how do you think you can help solve it?

The most pressing issue for me is climate change and flooding. With the recent rain events (Henri and Ida), this is top of mind for residents across the City. The severity of these storms is worsening due to climate change, and the City needs to do more to address this change. While we have taken a number of steps over the past four years to address this issue, the City needs to do more to address this change. First, we need to ensure that all new open spaces that are coming online will have resiliency infrastructure –including Block 10 in SW for the expansion of the SW Park and 800 Monroe. With the opening of NW Park next year, we will have a third pump coming online to address mitigation of flooding conditions once they have occurred – I’ve seen how beneficial the installation of the second flood pump was for the west side of town.

I would also like to see the City invest in an additional flood pump in SW Hoboken near the Hoboken Housing Authority. The City also needs to provide education and outreach to residents with information on how individuals homeowners can be empowered to make changes to their home that will address flooding conditions. Finally, we need to continue to build on the collaborative working relationship that this Administration has with the North Hudson Sewage Authority (NHSA) to ensure that we’re all working together on a common goal to address flooding for Hoboken.

3. Do you believe national political issues are relevant to Hoboken? During the last race, candidates cited their votes in the 2016 election. Are you willing to say for whom you voted in the 2020 presidential election? Do you believe it's relevant or irrelevant, and why?

Yes – I feel that national political issues are relevant to Hoboken because federal policies very much influence and impact local issues. For example, the level of funding dedicated to our community through federal grants such as the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) that supports many of our local non-profit organizations is very much influenced by federal politics. Another example is the level of funding dedicated to the Hoboken Housing Authority, as they are primarily funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Further, I think that one’s political position impacts the manner in which you approach local government – and what government should and should not do. Knowing that your community is led by people who support the diversity that you may represent – whether that is about racial identity, sexual orientation, gender identity – is important to feeling like you are safe and supported by your local leaders. I am proud to affirm that I voted for Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential election.

4. An issue that often comes up on social media discussion boards is a lack of affordable summer camp options and drop-off recreational options for kids in Hoboken, and a lack of activities for teens, especially compared to other towns, some smaller. In the last few years, parents have said they didn't get enough notice about baseball signups and had to register in Union City for that town's recreation baseball instead of in Hoboken. Specifically, how would you increase low-cost recreation (and not just sports) programming for kids and teens within town, especially over the summer?

I am very supportive of having the City of Hoboken offer a summer camp program that could employ Hoboken teens to work as counselors, while providing a much needed affordable summer camp option for families. I would like to see the City hire a new position that would act as programming director to oversee this type of summer program, as well as manage the ongoing recreation offerings. Before COVID, I was working with City Hall to do research on what surrounding communities have offered for summer programming in order to start putting together a proposal for Hoboken. Some of the logistical issues that people have experienced with the sign up process are related to bandwidth – the Director Health and Human Services has rightly prioritized the City’s COVID response, and I believe that we need to add more staff to bolster the recreation programming piece of these services.

5. Some believe that running for local office is only meant as a stepping stone, particularly in Hudson County. Do you plan to someday run for any other political office besides the one you are currently seeking? Why or why not?

Running for local office is naturally someone’s first experience in a political role. As someone who has only been in office one term, I can attest to the massive learning curve that’s associated with community mapping to understand stakeholder groups, while being in the public eye, and then figuring out how to rectify many points of view to come up with a plan of action. It is a difficult and taxing experience – but it is also incredibly rewarding. I feel that my social work background has been particularly useful in terms of how I engage and work with constituents on a regular basis. I am invested in the experience of public service as a Councilperson and hope to serve another term in this capacity. If the experience continues to go well, I would not rule out future opportunities to continue to serve Hoboken.

6. What is the best thing about Hoboken, and what is the worst thing?

The best thing about Hoboken is that it is a small town that happens to have 60,000 people living in it. Hoboken also punches well above its weight in terms of being a leader for New Jersey, as well as the rest of the country. I love that our community has that level of influence, while maintaining its small town feel where you know that your neighbors are keeping an eye out for you and your children on any given day. The only downside to the small town aspect to Hoboken is this means sometimes you can never avoid running into that one person you had hoped to avoid!

7. What are critical differences between you and other candidates?

I bring the experience of one term on the City Council, while also the outside perspective of working full-time for the Administration for Children and Families and being an active parent in the community. I think it is important to never get too “in the bubble,” so that you are reminded of what is important to people who are not necessarily as in the weeds of politics. I take pride in being involved in many different initiatives across the community that remind my how many different priorities the many stakeholders in this community may have – whether that’s related to parents, schools, sports, neighborhoods, small businesses, faith communities, non-profits, etc.

I have a proven track record of building relationships with varied stakeholders in order to leverage resources and work collaboratively – all the more important once COVID hit and the City needed to have a coordinated response. In addition to being part of the City’s very effective response to COVID, I’ve been supportive of critical policy issues like advocating for the Monarch settlement and acquisition of Union Dry Dock. Unfortunately I’ve witnessed first-hand how some people mistake the theatrics of a Council meeting as being a “leader” by yelling and attacking others – the real work happens behind the scenes, away from the camera, putting forward solutions not just criticism, and takes sustained diligence over time. I ran for office to do the real work of serving the people of Hoboken, and hope to continue this work for another term.

More Information

Hoboken's municipal elections are non-partisan, meaning the elections aren't Republicans vs. Democrats, but various individuals and slates against each other.

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