A prominent Bayonne businesswoman, Carissa Lintao, is running for City Council member At-Large in the May 10 municipal election.
Born and raised in Bayonne, Lintao is the CEO of Apptuitive, an award-winning marketing agency focused on mobile app marketing. Hailed as “a trailblazer” by Forbes Media, serial entrepreneur Lintao has spent the past five years as a leading business woman, marketer, and educator.
Lintao said she’s currently bootstrapping her company “from nothing to seven figures and beyond,” working with Fortune companies and startups alike. Apptuitive boasts responsibility for the growth of over 300 startups and established companies.
TEDxBayonne is another one of Lintao’s ventures. The independently organized TED event is a sign of Bayonne’s continuing progress and serves to “uplift, challenge, and inspire.”
Lintao has been featured for her entrepreneurial efforts and focus on utilizing technology for good on various platforms, including TEDx, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, Business Insider, CNBC, Thrive Global, Grit Daily, and Roadtrip Nation’s documentary, Venture Forward.
Urging responsibility in tech
One of Lintao’s core tenets is that founders, designers, developers, and makers have an obligation to uphold responsibility for everything they build. In her spare time, she researches and reports on ethical issues regarding tech, such as humane design, social media usage, app developer responsibility, and inequality.
Informing Gen Z, women, and minorities about the future of technology and work is her passion. She lives it out through mentoring independently and with TECHNOLOchicas, a division of the National Center for Women and Information Technology.
According to Lintao, growing up as a Filipino-American home schooler gave her vast exposure to many groups of people and activities around the city. While Lintao was contemplating leaving Bayonne not too long ago, she decided against it, instead staying in the city to help move it forward.
“Truth be told, I had no intentions on continuing to live in Bayonne just six months ago,nevertheless getting involved in Bayonne politics,” Lintao told the Bayonne Community News. “I was actually debating between moving into New York City or Austin, Texas – big ‘tech cities.’ However, after talking to friends and family, I decided to stay here to be the change I wanted to see in the city, regardless of the May election outcome.”
Amid the pandemic, Lintao realized that she needed to give back to her hometown, seeking to modernize small businesses and become an independent voice of reason within the community. Currently the youngest person running for City Councilmember At-Large, at age 24, Lintao is ready to go “above and beyond to accelerate the city’s growth.”
“Bayonne is an incredible place to live and it’s a melting pot filled with awe-inspiring people and stories,” Lintao said. “Especially its small business owners, who are the backbone of this town. I love NYC, Jersey City, and Hoboken but they have dominated the conversation for far too long.”
Campaign platform
With the launch of her campaign, Lintao has also launched a website at carissalintao.com outlining her platform and proposed policies.
Lintao wants to help fuel the growth of the city’s small business community. Her main focus wouldn’t be high-level operations or finance, but rather supporting and encouraging the entrepreneurs operating behind the scenes.
According to Lintao, she also wants to provide access and transparency, such as providing more informative updates on important issues to residents across an array of social media and online platforms.
Additionally, Lintao wants to prioritize pedestrian safety in the city, citing a 46 percent increase in pedestrian deaths over the past decade. She said the roads of Bayonne need to be safer for pedestrians and optimized for bikes, e-scooters, e-unicycles, and other such types of transportation.
Another key issue for Lintao is helping sports and arts programs thrive. As a second-degree brown belt, Bayonne Cal Ripken MVP, and former music educator, Lintao said she understands the value of organized sports and the arts first-hand. Both promote well-being, critical thinking, and hard work, according to Lintao, and she wants to keep these programs affordable, accessible, and advertised to help raise the next generation.
Lintao also wants to modernize the city’s library further. She built an award-winning company at home and also in the library during her formative years and is pushing for modern library amenities such as co-working spaces, studios, game rooms, art galleries, events, and more.
The race is on
So far, those running for Councilmember At-Large seats include Lintao, Bayonne Board of Education Trustee Denis Wilbeck, and City Councilman At-Large Juan Perez.
Perez joins two other previously announced candidates on Mayor James Davis’ council slate, including Third Ward City Councilman Gary La Pelusa and First Ward City Councilman Neil Carroll. Davis officially announced his re-election campaign recently and has been rolling out additional members of his slate in the past few weeks.
Davis faces a challenge in the mayoral contest from City Council President Sharon Ashe-Nadrowski, who has yet to announce a council slate. Former Bayonne Board of Education Trustee Michael Alonso is also running for mayor and has not announced a slate either.
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