Ravi Bhalla

Ravinder Singh Bhalla (born January 13, 1974), often simply called Ravi Bhalla, is an American civil rights lawyer and politician. He is the mayor of Hoboken, New Jersey since 2018. He was a member of the city council of Hoboken from 2009 until 2017.

Ravi Bhalla
12.19.17RaviBhallaByLuigiNovi2.jpg
39th Mayor of Hoboken
Assumed office
January 1, 2018[1]
Preceded byDawn Zimmer
Member of the Hoboken City Council
At-large
In office
July 1, 2009 – January 1, 2017
Personal details
Born
Ravinder Singh Bhalla

(1974-01-13) January 13, 1974 (age 50)[2]
Passaic, New Jersey, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Navneet K. Patwalia
Children2
Alma materUniversity of California, Berkeley (BS)
London School of Economics (MPA, MPP)
Tulane University (JD)
OccupationAttorney

On November 7, 2017, he was elected New Jersey's first Sikh mayor, as well as the first elected mayor in the United States who is a Sikh and wears a turban.[3][4][5][6][a]

Ravi Bhalla Media

Notes

  1. Kash Gill was the first Sikh to be elected mayor in the United States when he was elected mayor of Yuba City, California, in 2009, but he did not wear a turban.[7] Additionally, the Charlottesville City Council (Virginia) appointed councilmember Satyendra Huja, a Sikh who wears a turban, to the position of mayor in 2012.[8]

References

  1. Otterman, Sharon (2017-11-08). "In a City of Firsts, Hoboken Elects a Sikh as Mayor" (in en-US). The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331 . https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/08/nyregion/hoboken-sikh-mayor-ravi-bhalla.html. Retrieved 2017-11-12. 
  2. Tran, Claire (July 19, 2017). "Asian America New Jersey's First Sikh Elected Official Looks to 'Uplift' Community in Mayoral Bid". NBC News.
  3. "Ravinder Bhalla becomes first Sikh mayor of Hoboken city in US". Times of India. November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  4. Baer, Marilyn (October 22, 2017). "Profiles: Three of six mayoral candidates: Get to know Bhalla, Giattino, and Bautista Archived 2017-11-08 at the Wayback Machine". The Hudson Reporter. October 22, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  5. Park, Madison (November 8, 2017). "Election night brings historic wins for minority and LGBT candidates". CNN. November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  6. "Trans politician and Sikh mayor among diverse politicians chosen in US elections". BBC. November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  7. Smith, Ken (October 24, 2013). "Sikhs of the Sacramento Valley". Chico News & Review (Chico, California).
  8. "Sikh Elected Mayor of Charlottesville, Virginia". News India-Times (New York, New York). January 27, 2012. p. 4.