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Mayor Ravi Bhalla running for Congress
Bhalla, who was New Jersey’s first Sikh mayor, would become the first turbaned Sikh elected to Congress
If elected, he will be the first turbaned Sikh in Congress / Hoboken govt
Hoboken Mayor Ravi S. Bhalla, a champion of climate resilience and civil rights, announces bid for Congress, vowing to uphold his Sikh heritage while prioritizing environmental, healthcare, and reproductive rights issues.
Born and raised in New Jersey, Mayor Bhalla has been a resident of Hoboken for 22 years. The two-term Mayor of Hoboken served eight years on the city's council before assuming its highest office in 2018. Prior to his political career, he worked as a civil rights attorney.
Mayor Bhalla engaged with constituents during a meet and greet at Jesse Singh's residence in Crownsville, MD, and Dr. Navin Sethi's residence, where he addressed a gathering, saying, “My journey did not begin with myself, it began with my father. He was an immigrant from India and he came here (the US) for education. He was asked to cut his hair and remove his turban to integrate but he chose to refuse. If he decided not to maintain who he was, I would not be standing here today. My father is an example that anybody can be successful in America and be who you are.”
As Mayor, Bhalla has concentrated on enhancing the resilience of the City of Hoboken to climate change. In 2019, he signed the City's Climate Action Plan, aiming for Hoboken to achieve net-zero energy status by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2050.
Referring to the example of his father, Bhalla emphasized that one can be a Sikh and be successful at the same time without having to sacrifice one for the other. “He was told that you can’t do both and he rejected that choice,” Bhalla said. “If he didn’t maintain his articles of faith, I wouldn’t be here running to be the first turbaned member of Congress.”
If elected, Bhalla, who was New Jersey’s first Sikh mayor, would become the first turbaned Sikh elected to Congress and only the second Sikh to serve in the nation's capital.
He obtained his undergraduate education from the University of California at Berkeley, earning a B.A. in Political Psychology. Following this, he pursued further studies at the London School of Economics (L.S.E.) in the United Kingdom, where he attained a Master of Science degree in Public Administration and Public Policy. He then went on to receive a Juris Doctor Degree from Tulane Law School in New Orleans, Louisiana.
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