Mayor Zimmer and Mayor-Elect Bhalla Announce New Chief of Staff:
Mayor Dawn Zimmer announced today that she will appoint John Allen to serve as Chief of Staff effective December 4, 2017.
“In consultation with Mayor-Elect Bhalla, I am appointing John Allen as Chief of Staff,” said Mayor Dawn Zimmer.Mayor Dawn Zimmer announced today that she will appoint John Allen to serve as Chief of Staff effective December 4, 2017.
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| John Allen New Chief of Staff for Mayor Zimmer and Mayor Elect Ravi Bhalla - photo via Facebook |
“I look forward to working with John as my Chief of Staff in 2018.”
Mr. Allen is an attorney who specializes in the representation of governmental bodies, including boards of education and municipalities. He serves on the Board of Directors of Easterseals New Jersey, one of the state’s oldest and largest charitable organizations dedicated to empowering individuals with disabilities. He is a graduate of Rutgers University and earned his law degree at Rutgers School of Law.
Editor's Note:
There had been some speculation that perhaps former Zimmer Chief of Staff Vijay Chaudhuri would be appointed to be Ravi Bhalla's Chief of Staff but it looks like he is forging ahead with other opportunities. Vijay had previously resigned mid-week to join the Bhalla campaign as manager in late August.
As for John Allen, this is an interesting move for a full time lawyer in an established firm that actually brought in more in government contracts in the prior year than Ravi Bhalla's law firm according to the Michael Defusco campaign. Michael's prior assertions are referenced here with the following link:
In Hoboken DeFusco goes after Bhalla for adding political establishment attorney
We will have to see how this plays out but these appointments usually go to someone more junior and more familiar with the local political landscape then John has exhibited to date at least publicly.
Additional comments from Michael Defusco appear on Hudson County View's latest piece on the hire:
http://hudsoncountyview.com/hobokens-bhalla-selects-recent-running-mate-lawyer-as-his-chief-of-staff/
There had been some speculation that perhaps former Zimmer Chief of Staff Vijay Chaudhuri would be appointed to be Ravi Bhalla's Chief of Staff but it looks like he is forging ahead with other opportunities. Vijay had previously resigned mid-week to join the Bhalla campaign as manager in late August.
As for John Allen, this is an interesting move for a full time lawyer in an established firm that actually brought in more in government contracts in the prior year than Ravi Bhalla's law firm according to the Michael Defusco campaign. Michael's prior assertions are referenced here with the following link:
In Hoboken DeFusco goes after Bhalla for adding political establishment attorney
We will have to see how this plays out but these appointments usually go to someone more junior and more familiar with the local political landscape then John has exhibited to date at least publicly.
Additional comments from Michael Defusco appear on Hudson County View's latest piece on the hire:
http://hudsoncountyview.com/hobokens-bhalla-selects-recent-running-mate-lawyer-as-his-chief-of-staff/
