Sadaf F. Jaffer (born February 19, 1983) is an American scholar and elected official who has 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 for ...

since taking office on January 11, 2022. 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). The ultimate goal of a postdoctoral research position is to p ...

associate at the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies. Jaffer 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.

Early life, family and education

Jaffer was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

to South Asian Muslim immigrants. Her mother was born in

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

and her father was born in

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

. Her ancestors are originally from the Kutch region of western India. She attended the

Latin School of Chicago Latin School of Chicago is a selective private elementary, middle, and high school located in the Gold Coast neighborhood on the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The school was founded in 1888 by Mabel Slade Vickery. Latin S ...

, earned a

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

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 is considered to be one of the world's leading international affairs schools, granting degrees at both ...

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

, and a PhD at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. In 2011, Jaffer married Daniel Sheffield, an assistant professor in the

Near Eastern Studies Oriental studies is the academic field that studies Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology. In recent years, the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Middle Eastern studie ...

department at

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

. They had met at

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

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 of Asia, which is defined in both geographical and ethno-cultural terms. The region consists of the countries of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.;;;;;;;; ...

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 Andrew P. Zwicker (born May 17, 1964) is an American physicist and politician who has served in the New Jersey Senate from the 16th Legislative District since 2022. He previously served in the New Jersey General Assembly representing the 16th ...

decided to run for

New Jersey State Senate The New Jersey Senate was established as 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, ...

. 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 Roy Freiman (born April 30, 1959) is an American Democratic Party politician who has represented the 16th Legislative District in the New Jersey General Assembly since 2018, replacing Jack Ciattarelli, who did not seek re-election to his seat ...

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 the ...

. 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 was established as 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, ...

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

(D) * Assemblyman

(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 American Muslims American politicians of Pakistani descent Women state legislators in New Jersey 21st-century American politicians 21st-century American women politicians