TheMayor of the City of Hobokenis the head of theexecutive branchof government ofHoboken,New Jersey,United States.Themayorhas the duty to enforce themunicipal charterandordinances;prepare the annual budget; appointdeputy mayors,department heads, and aides; and approve or veto ordinances passed by the City Council. The mayor is popularly elected in anonpartisangeneral election.The office is held for a four-year term withoutterm limits.
| Mayor of the City of Hoboken | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Term length | Four years |
| Inaugural holder | Cornelius V. Clickener |
| Formation | 1855 |
| Salary | $116,000 |
| Website | Mayor Ravi Bhalla |
Thirty-eight individuals have held the office of mayor since the City of Hoboken was chartered on March 29, 1855. Cornelius V. Clickener was the inaugural mayor of the city, and served two consecutive terms. The current mayor isRavinder Bhalla;he was first elected in November 2017. On July 20, 2010, the Hoboken Council voted to move the nonpartisan municipal elections to be held on the same day as the statewide general election in November.[1]
Duties and powers
editThe City of Hoboken is organized as amayor-councilform of government under theOptional Municipal Charter Law.This provides for a citywide elected mayor serving in an executive role, as well as a city council serving in a legislative role. All of these offices are selected in anonpartisanmunicipal election and all terms are four years.[2]Under state law, the mayor has the duty to enforce the charter and ordinances of the city, and all applicable state laws; report annually to the council and the public on the state of the city; supervise and control all departments of the government; prepare and submit to the council annual operating and capital budgets; supervise all city property, institutions and agencies; sign allcontractsandbondsrequiring the approval of the city; negotiate all contracts; and serve as a member, either voting orex officio,of all appointive bodies.[3]
The mayor has the power to appoint departments heads with the approval of the City Council; to remove department heads subject to a two-thirds disapproval by the City Council; approve or veto ordinances subject to an override vote of two-thirds of the council; and appoint deputy mayors. The mayor is permitted to attend and participate in meetings of the City Council, without a vote, except in the case of a tie on the question to fill a council vacancy.[3]
Succession
editIn the event of an absence, disability, or other cause preventing the mayor from performing his duties, the mayor may designate the business administrator or any other department head as acting mayor for up to 60 days.[3]In the event of a vacancy in the office, the President of the City Council becomesacting mayor,and the council has 30 days to name an interim mayor. If no interim mayor is named, the Council President continues as acting mayor until a successor is elected, or until the council reorganizes and selects a new President. Prior to 1971, there was no automatic succession law.[4]
Mayors
edit| Rank | Rank[note 1] | Mayor | Years in office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Cornelius V. Clickener | 1855–1857 | Cornelius V. Clickener was the first mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey. |
| 2 | 2, 4 | Franklin B. Carpenter | 1857–1858, 1859–1860 | He was a lumber merchant who served in theNew York State AssemblyfromOtsego Countyin 1845. He served two nonconsecutive terms as the second and fourth mayor from 1857 to 1858 and 1859 to 1860. He then served one term in theNew Jersey General Assemblyin 1861.[5][6][7][note 1] |
| 3 | 3 | George William Morton | 1858–1859 | Morton served as the first Treasurer of Hoboken being elected in the 1855 Charter election.[8]He was appointed as a Water Commissioner in 1857.[9]Morton was the Democratic nominee for mayor in 1858.[10]He served a single term and was defeated by his predecessor in the 1859 election. Morton was theClerk of the Courtfor theUnited States District Court for the Southern District of New York
under JudgeSamuel Betts.[11] |
| 4 | 5 | John R. Johnston | 1860–1863 | "Hon. John R. Johnston. Mayor of Hoboken, died early on Saturday morning, after a protracted illness, in the 67th year of his age. Mayor Johnston was an upright man, and was highly esteemed by all who knew him. The funeral will take place this (Monday) afternoon, at 2 o'clock, from Trinity Church, and will be attended by the City authorities."[12][5][13] |
| 5 | 6 | Lorenzo Welton Elder | 1863–1864 | He was a brigade surgeon of theNew Jersey Army National Guard.It was through his efforts that theHudson County Board of Healthwas established. He was president of the Hudson County Pathology Society and was deputy adjutant-general on the staff of GovernorRodman McCamley Price.He was the local medical examiner of theMutual Benefit Life Insurance Companyof Newark, New Jersey, and of theNew York Life Insurance Company.He was three times elected as thetax commissionerfor Hoboken.[14] |
| 6 | 7 | Charles T. Perry | 1864–1865 | He was born on January 10, 1812, in Massachusetts to George Perry. On December 13, 1838, inSandwich, Massachusettshe married Caroline Goodson. Perry was president of the Hudson County Gaslight Company and a director of the First National Bank of Hoboken.[15]Perry died of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head on January 9, 1872.[16] |
| 7 | 8 | Frederick Beasley Ogden | 1865–1867 | |
| 8 | 9 | Frederick W. Bohnstedt | 1867–1869 | |
| 9 | 10 | Hazen Kimball | 1869–1871 | He was born on February 19, 1835, inBarton, Vermont.He was vice president of the First National Bank of Hoboken and president of the Gansevoort Bank of New York. He died on June 22, 1890, of apoplexy inHoboken, New Jersey.[17] |
| 10 | 11 | Frederick L. Schmersahl | 1871–1873 | He was a German-American merchant. |
| 11 | 12 | Peter McGavisk | 1873–1875 | |
| 12 | 13 | Joseph Russel | 1875–1878 | |
| 13 | 14, 16 | Elbridge Van Syckel Besson | 1878–1880, 1881–1883 | [note 1] |
| 14 | 15 | John A. O'Neill | 1880–1881 | |
| 15 | 17 | Herman L. Timken | 1883–1886 | |
| 16 | 18 | Edwin J. Kerr | 1886–1888 | |
| 17 | 19 | August Grassman | 1888–1891 | |
| 18 | 20 | Edward R. Stanton | 1891–1892 | |
| 19 | 21 | William Ellis | 1892–1893 | |
| 20 | 22 | Lawrence Fagan | 1893–1901 | |
| 21 | 23 | Adolph Lankering | 1901–1906 | |
| 22 | 24 | George Henry Steil | 1906–1910 | |
| 23 | 25 | George Washington Gonzales | 1910–1912 | |
| 24 | 26 | Martin Cooke | 1912–1915 | |
| 25 | 27 | Patrick R. Griffin | 1915–1926 | |
| 26 | 28 | Gustav Bach | 1926–1929 | |
| 27 | 29 | Bernard N. McFeely | 1930–1947 | |
| 28 | 30 | Fred M. De Sapio | 1947–1953 | |
| 29 | 31 | John J. Grogan | 1953–1965 | |
| 30 | 32, 34 | Louis De Pascale | 1965, 1965–1973 | [note 1] |
| 31 | 33 | Silvio Failla | 1965 | |
| 32 | 35 | Steve Cappiello | 1973–1985 | |
| 33 | 36 | Thomas Vezzetti | 1985–1988 | He served as mayor from 1985 until hedied in officein 1988. He fought against the gentrification of the city. |
| 34 | 37 | Patrick Pasculli | 1988–1993 | He served as acting mayor at the death of Vezzetti. He ran for mayor in 1989 on the promise to open the Hoboken waterfront to development.[18]Pasculli's campaign led to the formation of the Coalition for a Better Waterfront which opposed his plan to lease city-owned land to thePort Authority of New York and New Jerseyfor commercial development.[18] |
| 35 | 38 | Anthony Russo | 1993–2001 | He was charged with corruption in 2003 while a Hoboken city councilman.[19] |
| 36 | 39 | David Roberts | 2001–2009 | A former firefighter who served two consecutive terms.[20] |
| 37 | 40 | Peter Cammarano | 2009 | Arrested inOperation Bid Rigand resigned 30 days after being sworn into office. |
| 38 | 41 | Dawn Zimmer | 2009–2017 | Dawn Zimmer was the first female mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey. As president of the city council, became acting mayor after Cammarano's resignation. Won special election on November 6, 2009, for the remainder of Cammarano's term. Elected in her own right in 2013. |
| 39 | 42 | Ravi Bhalla | 2017– | Ravi Bhalla is the first Sikh Mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey. He was endorsed by predecessor Dawn Zimmer who announced in June 2017 that she would not be seeking re-election. |
Notes
edit- ^abcdBecause Franklin B. Carpenter, E.V.S. Besson and Louis de Pascale each served two nonconsecutive terms as mayor, the rank for all who followed each person became offset from the actual number of people who served (and as a result there have been 38 people who have served 41 mayoral terms). Because of this, rank can be determined either by the actual number of people who served (left column) or the mayoral terms served (right column).
References
edit- General
- "150 Years of Hoboken Anniversary Journal". The Hudson Reporter. March 28, 2005. p. 62.
- Specific
- ^Musat, Stephanie (July 21, 2011)."Hoboken council majority moves next election from May 2013 to November 2013".The Jersey Journal.RetrievedJuly 21,2011.
- ^"Faulkner Act (OMCL) Mayor-Council".Types And Forms Of New Jersey Municipal Government.New Jersey State League of Municipalities.Archived fromthe originalon September 27, 2007.RetrievedNovember 15,2009.
- ^abc"Optional Municipal Charter Law"(PDF).New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, Division of Local Government Services.State of New Jersey. 2003.RetrievedNovember 15,2009.[permanent dead link]
- ^"New Jersey Statutes Annotated, 40A:9-131".New Jersey State Legislature.RetrievedJanuary 27,2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^abWinfield, Charles (1874).History of the County of Hudson, New Jersey: from its earliest settlement to the present time.New York, NY: Kennard & Hay Stationery M'fg and Print. Co. p.319.
- ^Ward, George Kemp (1912).Genealogy of the Olmsted family in America: embracing the descendants of James and Richard Olmsted and covering a period of nearly three centuries, 1632-1912.A.T. De La Mare Print. and Pub. Co. p.58.
Franklin carpenter hoboken mayor.
- ^Fitzgerald, Thomas F. (1892).Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey.p. 97.
- ^"New Jersey; Hoboken Charter Election"(PDF).The New York Times.April 14, 1855. p. 1.
- ^"New-Jersey.; Injunction Refused. Election of Officers. The Hoboken Water Question"(PDF).The New York Times.December 3, 1857.RetrievedDecember 9,2010.
- ^"New Jersey Items"(PDF).The New York Times.April 10, 1858.
- ^"Death of George W. Morton".The New York Times.May 9, 1865.RetrievedDecember 9,2010.
Mr. Morton, for many years clerk of the District Court of the United States, presided over by Judge Betts, in this city, died on Sunday morning at his residence in Hoboken....
- ^"Death of Mayor Johnston, of Hoboken".The New York Times.April 20, 1863.
- ^"Military Affairs in New Jersey".New York Times.Retrieved2015-02-13.
Hon. John R. Johnston, Mayor of the city, presided....
- ^Atkinson, William Biddle (1878)."Lorenzo W. Elder".The Physicians and Surgeons of the United States.C. Robson. p. 356.
Lorenzo W. Elder, Hoboken, N. J., was born in Guilford, Chenango co., N. Y., April 15th, 1820. He was educated at the Guilford district school, and studied medicine at the coll. of phys. and surg. of New York city, graduating in 1847....
- ^Costa, Isaac (1867).Gopsill's Jersey City and Hoboken directory for the year ending 30th April, 1867.James Gopsill.p. 431.
- ^"Suicide of the Ex-Mayor of Hoboken"(PDF).New York Times.January 10, 1872.RetrievedDecember 23,2010.
- ^"Hazen Kimball"(PDF).New York Times.June 23, 1890.
Hazen Kimball dropped dead in Hoboken yesterday of apoplexy. He was one of the best known citizens of Hoboken, and in 1869 and 1870 was Mayor of that city. At the time of his death...
- ^abRomano, Jay (March 29, 1992)."How a 'Bunch of Amateurs' Learned to Fight City Hall".The New York Times.Retrieved2009-09-01.
The grass-roots movement began in 1989 when Patrick Pasculli ran for Mayor on a platform that included a plan to lease city-owned waterfront land to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey for development....
- ^"Former Mayor Of Hoboken Is Accused Of Corruption".New York Times.September 26, 2003.Retrieved2015-02-13.
Anthony J. Russo, the two-term former mayor of Hoboken, was indicted today on federal corruption and bribery charges a little more than a month after he ended a political comeback...
- ^Gettleman, Jeffrey (15 June 2005)."Mayor of Hoboken Wins 2nd Term in Bitter Runoff Election".New York Times.Retrieved16 January2011.
Mayor David Roberts, a former firefighter and a favorite of the local Democratic Party, won a second term Tuesday night in a bitterly contested runoff election....