Meet Ron Bautista | Ron Bautista for Hoboken

Ron is a 23-year resident and community activist in Hoboken running for County Commissioner. He gets his inspiration to run for office from Sofi, his 4-year-old daughter who attends Calabro elementary, and his 69-year-old mother living in Hoboken – people who are the most vulnerable to unsafe streets, air pollution, and the inequalities perpetuated by our politicians.

A selfie image of Ron, his mom and Sofi, his daughter

Born in Ecuador, Ron moved to the United States when he was 12 years old. Ron is a Hoboken High School alum '04, and while he has a full-time job as a marketing executive, he has dedicated his life to public service.

An image of Ron, Winnie, his wife, and Sofi, his daughter, in a church

Ron was an undocumented immigrant for 11 years due to a long pathway to getting his green card through a family process. During those years he had to live in fear, without a voice, and feeling as if he didn't have any rights because of his immigration status.

Once he got his green card, he began speaking up, not just for himself but for neighbors as well. He is committed to staying consistent with his values and active in the community.

A selfie image of Ron and volunteers at a Hoboken street corner

Ron has been a member of the Hoboken Vision Zero Task Force since 2019. Through this work, the task force has achieved zero traffic deaths in the past four years. However, there's still a lot of work to be done in order to prevent serious injuries, and we don't live in a bubble; county roads remain our most deadly roads, especially the roads coming in and out of Hoboken.

As a community activist, Ron has always been motivated to fight for everyday people. He is running for office to fight for safer streets, marginalized groups, and ending homelessness.

In 2019, Ron joined the Port Authority Bus Terminal Advisory Council, and he is currently the co-chair. The advisory council has been able to push for more accountability around addressing homelessness and improving wayfinding within the terminal.

Since 2020, Ron has been a board member of the Hudson River Waterfront Conservancy, a nonprofit organization focused on ensuring a public waterfront walkway throughout Hudson and Bergen County. Recently, the organization took on legal action to allow the public to access the waterfront walkway at Edgewater's Admiral’s Walk.

Ron also became a board member of the Coalition for Food and Health Equity in 2022. This organization has addressed the meal and nutrition needs of over 1000 families, supported over 20 small businesses, and served over 200,000 healthy meals since 2020.

If it was up to Anthony Romano, Ron would have been deported for being a dreamer, an undocumented minor brought to the country for a better life. Ron is living proof that with a pathway to citizenship, he was able to lift up his family and give back to his community.

Romano has shown his priorities over the years: using immigrant family separation and incarceration to raise money for the county, ignoring real solutions for homelessness, and denying the science of pedestrian safety that have cost dozens of lives in the past few years.

Ron's running for County Commissioner because we need a public servant in office, not someone who answers to a political party boss.

A black-and-white image of Ron with his arms crossed