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 The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts f ...

from 2022 to 2024. She is a

postdoctoral research A postdoctoral fellow, postdoctoral researcher, or simply postdoc, is a person professionally conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies (typically a PhD). Postdocs most commonly, but not always, have a temporary acade ...

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 The 2023 New Jersey General Assembly elections were held on November 7, 2023. New Jersey voters elected two Assembly members in all of the state's legislative districts for a two-year term to the New Jersey General Assembly. This was the first ...

for personal reasons.

Early life, family and education

Jaffer was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

to South Asian Muslim immigrants. Her mother was born in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

and her father was born in

Yemen Yemen, officially the Republic of Yemen, is a country in West Asia. Located in South Arabia, southern Arabia, it borders Saudi Arabia to Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, the north, Oman to Oman–Yemen border, the northeast, the south-eastern part ...

. Her ancestors are originally from the Kutch region of western India. She attended the Latin School of Chicago, earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

foreign service Foreign Service may refer to: * Diplomatic service, the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country * United States Foreign Service, the diplomatic service of the United States government **Foreign Service ...

from the

School of Foreign Service The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) is the school of international relations at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. It grants degrees at both undergraduate and graduate levels. Founded in 1919, SFS is the oldest continu ...

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private Jesuit research university in Washington, D.C., United States. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic higher education, Ca ...

, and a

PhD A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of graduate study and original research. The name of the deg ...

in near-eastern languages and civilizations from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. In 2011, Jaffer married Daniel Sheffield, an assistant professor in the Near-Eastern Studies Department at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. They had met at Harvard and have one child.

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 Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

n 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

Jaffer ran for

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. After trailing behind Republican Vinny Panico for the second Assembly seat by nearly 300 votes in data published the night of the election she won alongside Roy Freiman in the final results, more than 2,500 votes ahead of Panico.

Committees

Committee assignments for the current session are:Assemblywoman Sadaf Jaffer

New Jersey Legislature The New Jersey Legislature is the legislative branch of the government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, as defined by the New Jersey Constitution of 1947, the Legislature consists of two houses: the General Assembly and ...

. 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 The New Jersey Senate is the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232,225 (2020 figure ...

and two members in the

. The representatives from the 16th District for the 2022—23 Legislative Session are:Legislative Roster for District 16

. Accessed January 11, 2022. * Senator Andrew Zwicker (D) * Assemblyman Roy Freiman (D) * Assemblywoman Sadaf Jaffer (D)

Electoral history

References

External links

*
Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jaffer, Sadaf 1983 births Living people American people of Yemeni descent Georgetown University alumni Harvard University alumni Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly Politicians from Chicago People from Montgomery Township, New Jersey Politicians from Middlesex County, New Jersey Princeton University people Stanford University fellows Women mayors of places in New Jersey Muslims from Illinois Muslims from New Jersey American politicians of Pakistani descent Women state legislators in New Jersey 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century mayors of places in New Jersey Asian-American state legislators in New Jersey American mayors of Asian descent 21st-century members of the New Jersey Legislature