Learn more about the State Senate Democratic candidates in LD25 that will vie for the Morris County Democratic Committee endorsement: Cliff Dawkins, Jeff Grayzel, and Rupande Mehta
All three of our Democratic candidates in District 25 running for State Senate – Rupande Mehta, Cliff Dawkins and Jeff Grayzel – hold strong to the ideals of our Democratic Party and would make excellent candidates for the state senate.
— Chip Robinson, Chair, Morris County Democratic Committee
Meet the Democratic State Senate Candidates
Cliff Dawkins
Candidate for NJ State Senate, LD-25
As an employment and labor attorney, community leader, youth mentor, husband and proud father of two, Cliff Dawkins points to his record of bringing people together. Cliff is running for State Senate because he feels this moment demands a leader who will work with and on behalf of every resident.
Cliff believes that everyone deserves access to quality healthcare that they can afford. He explains that Morris County needs public-private partnerships to develop green jobs and sustainable infrastructure to mitigate the effects of climate change and stimulate our economy. Cliff wants to update our infrastructure to create new jobs, increase the safety of our residents, and build a stronger, more resilient state. Early on, he says we must take action to address an average of eight opioid-related deaths per day.
A graduate of Dover High School and a Rockaway Borough resident, Cliff earned a business degree from Cornell University. and went on to earn a Master’s in Public Policy from Rutgers University and a JD from Rutgers Law School.
Today, Cliff works as an Employment & Labor attorney at a law firm, practicing in New Jersey and New York. He also serves on the board of the Urban League of Morris County, the Garden State Bar Association-Young Lawyers Division, the National Bar Association-Young Lawyers Division, and the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee on Civil Practice.
To learn more about Cliff Dawkins, contact him at these links…
Jeff Grayzel
Candidate for NJ State Senate, LD-25
Jeff Grayzel was the first Democratic mayor of Morris Township, leading an aggressive agenda of change in his first year. In a purple town, Jeff won by a landslide 1,495 votes (16% win) in 2018 showing strong support among both unaffiliated and Republican voters. He is the only Democrat to ever get elected to a second term in Morris Township (and now serving a third term).
Building on the many accomplishments during his time as Mayor, he is committed to working to solve the everyday problems facing New Jersey residents such as keeping taxes stable, controlling over-development, and addressing our deteriorating environment.
Jeff formed the first in-state Transportation And Circulation committee, the Environment, Energy and Sustainability committee and sponsored a Mayor’s roundtable with four towns on sharing services.
With a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering from Columbia University, Jeff would like to apply his engineering background to solve problems related to traffic, and recycling, to make sure government runs more efficiently for our taxpayers.
To learn more about Jeff Grayzel, contact him at these links…
Rupande Mehta
Candidate for NJ State Senate, LD-25
Rupande Mehta is an analytical specialist in sourcing and negotiations for a Fortune-100 company in New Jersey. She has her MBA and a Master’s in Public Administration where she was a Fellow of the Eagleton Institute of Politics. Rupande lives in Denville with her husband and daughter.
Rupande ran for Morris County Freeholder in 2018 and came within 2 points of winning, the closest anyone has come since 1976. In LD-25, she got over 40,000 votes and won 7 battleground towns – Boonton, Dover, Morristown, Morris Twp, Randolph, Victory Gardens and Wharton.
As Senator, Rupande wants to fight to make sure LD-25 school districts get sufficient state funding to continue providing the best education in the country without the burden falling on municipalities and counties to raise taxes. She intends to fix the State Funding formula, so municipalities aren’t bearing such a heavy burden. By investigating ways to stabilize the largest drivers of rising school costs, she wants to avoid putting the brunt on our teachers.
Most Democrats have already voted for her once. She praises her volunteer army and the excitement behind her race, feeling that gives her a good chance of victory in November.
To learn more about Rupande Mehta, contact her at these links…
At the March 15th MCDC Special Nominating Meeting, candidates for County, Legislative, Congressional and Presidential office will learn who will receive the MCDC Party Line.
All descriptions here were taken from MCDC political director Leslye Moya’s event announcement and by permission of the candidates from their websites, then adapted and lightly edited. [The content is not original but any mistakes are mine. — Sheryl Coe, Editor]
New Jersey’s 25th Legislative District
Towns in the 25th district include: Bernardsville, Boonton, Boonton Township, Chester Borough, Chester Township, Denville, Dover, Mendham Borough, Mendham Township, Mine Hill, Morris Township, Morristown, Mount Arlington, Mountain Lakes, Netcong, Randolph, Rockaway Borough, Roxbury, Victory Gardens, Washington Township, and Wharton.
