Darryl Godfrey, the chief operations officer of the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority, is preparing to enter the July 16 special Democratic primary for the congressional seat held by the late Rep. Donald Payne, Jr., the New Jersey Globe has confirmed.
Godfrey is taking steps to hire campaign staff, set up his campaign account, and circulate nominating petitions, with a formal announcement expected to come within the next few days. He’s been making calls to donors and local Democratic leaders.
A former executive vice president of the Brick City Development Corporation under then-Newark Mayor Cory Booker, Godfrey is prepared to party self-fund his race with a significant contribution, and his redevelopment contacts could mean he’ll assemble a strong enough warchest of well over six figures to make him competitive in the special primary.
Essex County Democratic leaders are backing LaMonica McIver, the president of the Newark City Council, for the seat. Another potential candidate, Rev. Ronald Slaughter, had been planning to run but today opted out of the race.
The 62-year-old Godfrey grew up in Newark’s West Ward and then lived in South Orange when it was part of the 10th district. He now lives in Morristown, but plans to move back into the district.
At Brick City, Godfrey played a key role in securing capital for underserved small businesses and created a $10 million technical assistance program funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration that helped more than 600 entrepreneurs and startups. He helped create a $4 million fund for small businesses with a donation from Prudential Insurance.
Before joining the public sector in the economic development arena, Godfrey spent fifteen years in banking, working at JP Morgan Chase, GE Capital, Commerce Bank, Banco Popular, and First Fidelity Bank.
He’s held his state post since 2014.