Mayor Bhalla Announces Staff Changes For Hoboken City Hall

HOBOKEN, NJ — Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla announced on Friday several senior personnel changes for City Hall, including eliminating the chief of staff and deputy chief of staff positions and creating a director of operations position for the Mayor's Office. He also added new duties for the city's chief resilience officer, who deals with environmental issues such as flooding.

"This reorganization of senior personnel streamlines city government as the city of Hoboken heads into the new year," noted a release.

Among the changes: Caleb Stratton will now serve as assistant business administrator in addition to his role as the city's chief resilience officer. John Allen, an attorney who was a council candidate on the mayor's ticket in 2017 and became his chief of staff, will serve in the Office of Corporation Counsel full-time, which expands on his appointment to assistant corporation counsel last August. And Jason Freeman, the mayor's former deputy chief of staff, will take on the role of director of operations.

A press release included the following details about the newly appointed personnel:

• "For the past two years, Stratton has led Hoboken’s long-term resiliency goals and worked collaboratively across departments as well with different state and federal agencies to help mitigate the effects of climate change on city systems. As part of his responsibilities, Stratton has managed city-wide programs including energy security, climate change adaptation, community preparedness, sustainability, strengthening urban ecology, flood resistant urban design, and transit security as part of the Rebuild by Design project." Bhalla said, “Caleb has been key to the progress of our sustainability priorities – including the development of a municipal micro-grid in collaboration with Sandia National Laboratories. As we embark on an ambitious resilient infrastructure agenda, Caleb’s innovative approach will be essential to our success.”
• "Allen has served as chief of staff for the city under mayors Dawn Zimmer and Bhalla and has played an instrumental role in the success of the two administrations. In his role [as] corporation counsel, Allen will bring his wealth of legal experience in municipal government including economic development, land use and labor negotiations, to work on behalf of the city as an attorney." Bhalla said: “John has been invaluable partner to me as my chief of staff and has established strong working relationships across county and state government. I’d like to thank John for his service, and we are lucky to have an attorney who brings both public and private sector experience to address the legal challenges facing the city of Hoboken in a professional, ethical, and cost-effective manner.”
• "Freeman previously served as deputy chief of staff since January 2018. In this new role of director of operations, he will be responsible for the efficient and effective operation of the Mayor’s Office and the administration. This includes aiding in the crafting of policy, operational procedures and strategic decisions as well as overseeing budgeting and planning." Bhalla said: “Jason has played a dynamic role in my administration and always brings a strong work ethic. His understanding of Hoboken’s issues makes him a vital asset to my administration.”

In the past, the mayor has faced some pushback from his council critics on the chief of staff positions.