Meet Ravi

Ravi S. Bhalla was born and raised in New Jersey. He traveled far to get an education – California for a BA from Berkeley, England for a Masters in Public Administration and Public Policy from the London School of Economics, and Louisiana for his JD from Tulane. He then came home to New Jersey and almost a decade ago, settled in Hoboken to build a home and raise a family with his wife Bindya. In 2007, they welcomed their new daughter, Arza.

Ravi is a small businessman, managing a four-lawyer law firm with offices in downtown Hoboken and Newark. His firm specializes in employment law, civil rights, commercial litigation, and local government law. He was included in the 2009 edition NJ Superlawyers and NJ Monthly magazine as one of those designated as a ‘Rising Star’ in the New Jersey legal community.

Trained both in Law and Public Policy, Ravi finds ways to use his legal expertise to serve the public’s ends. “Our laws are designed to protect us, but they only do that when we stand up to make our voices heard” Ravi believes. Recently, Ravi stood up when the Hoboken Board of Education tried to grant an illegal consulting contract to advance an ill-conceived ‘HoLa” program. And four years ago, during the city shut-down, Ravi successfully went to court to defend the right of Councilwoman Carol Marsh and others to refuse to let the city borrow to pay for current operating expenses.

His run for Council is just another example of standing up. “Laws have been broken, money squandered, and opportunities lost. Mayor Roberts is to blame, certainly, but the Council majority could and should have done much more to stop it. On our watch the council will stand up. Together with my council running mates, we will join Dawn Zimmer in restoring fiscal responsibility, providing transparency, and modernizing city government.”

Ravi has long been an advocate for the legitimate rights of tenants and landlords, serving for close to two years as Hoboken's Rent Board Attorney and Special Litigation Counsel for Rent Board matters, and continuing to serve as Union City’s Tenant Advocate. Ravi currently serves as an elected Democratic Committeeman for the 2nd Ward, 3rd District in Hoboken, which, before this run for Council is the only office he has ever sought.