Sadaf Jaffer

{{Infobox officeholder

| name = Sadaf Jaffer

| image = Sadaf Jaffer (cropped).jpg

| state_assembly1 = New Jersey

| district1 = 16th

| term_start1 = January 11, 2022

| term_end1 = January 9, 2024

| alongside1 = Roy Freiman

| predecessor1 = Andrew Zwicker

| successor1 = Mitchelle Drulis

| office2 = Mayor of Montgomery Township

| term_start2 = January 3, 2019

| term_end2 = December 31, 2020

| predecessor2 = Mark Conforti

| successor2 = Devra Keenan

| party = Democratic

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1983|2|19}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ggcnj.org/sadaf-jaffer/|title=Sadaf F. Jaffer – candidate for Montgomery Township Committee|date=19 October 2017|website=www.ggcnj.org|access-date=22 May 2019}}

| birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

| spouse = Daniel Sheffield

| children = 1

| residence = Montgomery Township, New Jersey

| education = Georgetown University {{small|(BS)}}
Harvard University {{small|(PhD)}}

| website = [https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/legislative-roster/447/assemblywoman-jaffer Legislative webpage]

}}

Sadaf F. Jaffer (born February 19, 1983) is an American academic and politician who represented the 16th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly from 2022 to 2024. She is a postdoctoral research associate at the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies.

Jaffer previously served two one-year terms as mayor of Montgomery Township, having taken office on January 3, 2019, and completing her term on December 31, 2020. She is the first woman of South Asian descent to serve as mayor of a town in New Jersey, and the first Muslim woman to serve as a mayor in the United States. Jaffer was first elected to Montgomery's Township Committee in 2017. She did not seek re-election in the 2023 New Jersey General Assembly election for personal reasons.{{Cite web |last=Wildstein |first=David |date=2023-01-16 |title=Jaffer will not seek re-election to Assembly in 2023 |url=https://newjerseyglobe.com/legislature/jaffer-will-not-seek-re-election-to-assembly-in-2023/ |access-date=2023-01-17 |website=New Jersey Globe |language=en-US}}

Early life, family and education

Jaffer was born in Chicago to South Asian Muslim immigrants. Her mother was born in Pakistan and her father was born in Yemen.{{cite news |last=O'Dea |first=Colleen |date=May 8, 2019 |title=Meet Sadaf Jaffer, New Jersey's first female Muslim mayor |work=WHYY-FM |url=https://whyy.org/articles/meet-sadaf-jaffer-new-jerseys-first-female-muslim-mayor/ |access-date=August 28, 2022}} Her ancestors are originally from the Kutch region of western India.{{Cite web |last=Jabeen |first=Yusra |date=2019-01-07 |title=Sadaf Jaffer Sworn In As The First South Asian Woman Mayor in New Jersey |url=https://theindiaobserver.com/sadaf-jaffer-sworn-in-as-the-first-pakistani-american-woman-mayor-in-new-jersey/ |access-date=2022-08-28 |website=TheIndiaObserver.com |language=en-US}} She attended the Latin School of Chicago, earned a bachelor's degree in foreign service from the School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University, and a PhD in near-eastern languages and civilizations from Harvard University.{{cite news |last=Deak |first=Mike |title=Montgomery: Sadaf Jaffer becomes NJ's first female South Asian mayor |url=https://www.mycentraljersey.com/story/news/local/somerset-county/2019/01/09/montgomery-sadaf-jaffer-becomes-njs-first-female-south-asian-mayor/2512814002/ |work=Courier News |location=Somerville, New Jersey |access-date=February 28, 2019 }}{{cite news |author= |date=January 4, 2019 |title=Sadaf Jaffer sworn in as first South Asian-American woman mayor in New Jersey |url=http://www.newsindiatimes.com/sadaf-jaffer-sworn-in-as-first-south-asian-american-woman-mayor-in-new-jersey |work=New India Times |publisher=Parikh Worldwide Media |access-date=February 28, 2019 }}

In 2011, Jaffer married Daniel Sheffield,{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/fashion/weddings/sadaf-jaffer-daniel-sheffield-weddings.html|title=Sadaf Jaffer, Daniel Sheffield: Weddings|newspaper=The New York Times |date=27 May 2011|access-date=22 May 2019}} an assistant professor in the Near-Eastern Studies Department at Princeton University. They had met at Harvard and have one child.{{cite news |last=de La Bruyere |first= Josephine |date=January 13, 2019 |title=Postdoc becomes NJ's first female South Asian mayor |url=http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/article/2019/01/postdoc-becomes-njs-first-female-south-asian-mayor |work=The Daily Princetonian |location=Princeton, New Jersey |access-date=February 28, 2019 }}{{cite news |last=Sharma |first=Ahmed|date=January 30, 2019 |title=South Asian American woman breaks boundaries with historic mayoral election |url=https://news4sanantonio.com/news/nation-world/south-asian-female-breaks-boundaries-in-new-jerseys-mayoral-election |work=News 4 San Antonio |publisher=Sinclair Broadcast Group |access-date=February 28, 2019 }}

Mayor of Montgomery Township

In 2016, Jaffer launched an unsuccessful write-in campaign for Montgomery Township Committee. The following year she won a seat on the Township Committee on the Democratic ticket. In 2019, she was appointed to the position as mayor by her fellow committee members. She was sworn in on January 3, 2019, becoming the first woman of South Asian descent to serve as mayor of a town in New Jersey, and the first Muslim woman to serve as a mayor in the United States.

New Jersey General Assembly

{{see also|2021 New Jersey General Assembly election#District 16}}

Jaffer ran for New Jersey General Assembly in the 16th district after incumbent Andrew Zwicker decided to run for New Jersey State Senate. She was endorsed by several progressive groups, including #VOTEPROCHOICE.{{cite web |url=https://www.voteprochoice.us/endorsed-candidates-2021 |website=#VOTEPROCHOICE |access-date=14 February 2022|title=Meet Our 2021 Candidates }} After trailing behind Republican Vinny Panico for the second Assembly seat by nearly 300 votes in data published the night of the electionWildstein, David. [https://newjerseyglobe.com/legislature/freiman-re-elected-jaffer-likely-winner-of-16th-district-assembly-seat/ "Freiman re-elected, Jaffer likely winner of 16th district Assembly seat"], New Jersey Globe, November 5, 2021. Accessed January 23, 2022. "Jaffer, who trailed on election night and was ahead by less than 300 votes on Thursday, has now opened up an 801-vote lead against Republican Vinny Panico, a former president of the Central Hunterdon Regional Board of Education." she won alongside Roy Freiman in the final results, more than 2,500 votes ahead of Panico.[https://elections.ap.org/nj/results/2021-11-02/state/NJ/race/Y/raceid/31639 New Jersey Elections Results: State Assembly - District 16 - General], Associated Press. Accessed January 23, 2022.

= Committees =

Committee assignments for the current session are:[https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/legislative-roster/447/assemblywoman-jaffer Assemblywoman Sadaf Jaffer], New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2022.

Education
Health
State and Local Government

= District 16 =

Each of the 40 districts in the New Jersey Legislature has one representative in the New Jersey Senate and two members in the New Jersey General Assembly.[https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/constitution New Jersey State Constitution 1947 (Updated Through Amendments Adopted in November, 2020): Article IV, Section II], New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 28, 2022. The representatives from the 16th District for the 2022—23 Legislative Session are:[https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/legislative-roster?district=16 Legislative Roster for District 16], New Jersey Legislature. Accessed January 11, 2022.

Senator Andrew Zwicker (D)
Assemblyman Roy Freiman (D)
Assemblywoman Sadaf Jaffer (D)

=Electoral history=

{{Election box begin no change

|title = 16th Legislative District Democratic Primary, 2021{{cite web |title=Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For PRIMARY ELECTION 06/08/2021 Election |url=https://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/2021/2021-official-primary-results-general-assembly.pdf |publisher=Secretary of State of New Jersey |access-date=August 1, 2021 |date=July 13, 2021}}

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| candidate = Sadaf F. Jaffer

| votes = 9,383

| percentage = 44.2%

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| candidate = Roy Freiman (incumbent)

| votes = 8,889

| percentage = 41.8%

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| candidate = Faris Zwirahn

| votes = 2,979

| percentage = 14.0%

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 21,251

| percentage = 100.0%

}}

{{Election box begin no change

|title = 16th Legislative District General Election, 2021{{cite web |title=Official List, Candidates for General Assembly For GENERAL ELECTION 11/02/2021 Election |url=https://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/2021/2021-official-general-results-general-assembly.pdf |publisher=Secretary of State of New Jersey |access-date=December 12, 2021 |date=November 30, 2021}}

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| candidate = Roy Freiman (incumbent)

| votes = 40,992

| percentage = 26.67%

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| candidate = Sadaf F. Jaffer

| votes = 39,512

| percentage = 25.71%

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Republican Party (United States)

| candidate = Vincent T. Panico

| votes = 36,924

| percentage = 24.03%

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Republican Party (United States)

| candidate = Joseph A. Lukac III

| votes = 36,251

| percentage = 23.59%

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 153,679

| percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box hold with party link no change

| winner = Democratic Party (United States)

| loser = Republican Party (United States)

}}

References

External links

{{Official website|http://www.sadafjaffer.com/}}
[http://piirs.princeton.edu/person/sadaf-jaffer Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies profile]

Category:1983 births

Category:Living people

Category:American people of Yemeni descent

Category:Georgetown University alumni

Category:Harvard University alumni

Category:Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly

Category:Politicians from Chicago

Category:People from Montgomery Township, New Jersey

Category:Politicians from Middlesex County, New Jersey

Category:Princeton University people

Category:Stanford University fellows

Category:Women mayors of places in New Jersey