Two Democrats allied with gubernatorial candidate Steve Fulop will run for State Assembly in the Bergen County-based 37th district next year, taking on two incumbents in a likely lineless primary with office block voting.
Tamar Warburg, a Teaneck Democratic leader and general counsel of the Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest NJ, and Tenafly Councilman Dan Park will take on Assemblywomen Shama Haider (D-Tenafly) and Ellen Park (D-Englewood Cliffs).
Warburg and Park are the latest additions to a statewide slate of Assembly candidates who would share Fulop’s ballot slogan in next year’s primary. Fulop, the three-term mayor of Jersey City, announced in April that he would spend $10 million to recruit candidates who would be independent of county chairs if they serve in the state legislature.
“We’re continuing to build this campaign brick by brick, and that means running candidates for State Assembly who will not only help us organize in their communities but will truly represent the interests of their constituents over the political bosses,” said Fulop. “Our campaign is different because we are challenging the political establishment in a way that has never been attempted before, and to do that, we need bold community leaders like Tamar and Dan, who are willing to disrupt the status quo.”
An Englewood native, Warburg was among the leaders of a grassroots effort to pick up seats on the Teaneck Democratic Committee earlier this year. She defeated incumbent Gwenette Reese, a former aide to State Sens. Loretta Weinberg and Gordon Johnson, in the primary with 60% of the vote.
“This past June, residents of Teaneck came out in unprecedented numbers to vote in a primary and demonstrated their engagement with the political process, proving that voters are the ultimate decision-makers,” she said. “I’m excited to offer residents a real choice when they vote for Assembly candidates in the June 2025 primary and to see this voter engagement and excitement multiplied across our district and statewide.
Warburg would become the first Orthodox Jewish woman legislator in New Jersey if she wins the safe Democratic 37th district.
In 2013, Dan Park became the first Korean American to win a seat on the Tenafly Borough Council. When he sought a third term in 2019, Haider, the Democratic municipal chair, withheld party support for his re-election.
Running off the line, Park ousted another incumbent, Maxim Basch, in the Democratic primary by a vote of 687-395. Newcomer Adam Michaels, picked to replace Park, received 774 votes.
In that contest, Park called for Basch’s resignation after a racist post on the Facebook page of Ellen Park, then an Englewood Cliffs councilwoman. Ellen Park posted a picture of herself and others at a Korean American Day celebration in New York City. Under the post, Basch asked, “Was it good Chinese food?” Basch also faced criticism over an altercation with a Tenafly resident over one of his campaign signs.
“I’ve always believed in public service and in taking bold steps to serve my community instead of waiting for permission from party bosses, so I could not be more excited to run for State Assembly on Team Fulop,” stated Dan Park. “It’s time for a new era of politics in New Jersey that puts the interests of everyday residents ahead of political insiders, and that’s exactly why I’m running for Assembly.”
Haider and Ellen Park were first elected to the Assembly in 2021 when Weinberg’s retirement triggered a Democratic primary between the two assemblymembers, Johnson and Valerie Vainieri Huttle. Haider and Park ran with Johnson and defeated Teaneck Councilwoman Gervonn Romney-Rice and Tenafly Councilwoman Lauren Dayton by wide margins.
Haider is the only Muslim assemblywoman and Park is the lone Korean American in the Assembly.
Johnson said last month that he would endorse Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Tenafly) if he runs for governor; Vainieri Huttle has endorsed Fulop.
As incumbents with an uncontested primary in 2023 and easy general elections in 2021 and 2023, Park and Haider are in decent shape on campaign cash. Park reported $151,893 cash-on-hand through September 30; Haider has $56,075 in her campaign account.
The 37th, which has been anchored in Teaneck, Englewood, and Tenafly since 1973 and has never elected a Republican, also includes Bogota, Englewood Cliffs, Fort Lee, Hackensack, Leonia, Palisades Park, and Ridgefield Park.
Team Fulop Assembly candidates include Evesham Councilman Eddie Freeman III in the 8th district, where each party is defending one seat, along with Lisa Bonanno in the 2nd, Brian Everett in the 4th, Rashan Prailow in the 5th, and Rebecca Holloway and Kevin Ryan in the 6th.
Four Hudson lawmakers – Barbara McCann (D-Jersey City), John Allen (D-Hoboken), Jessica Ramirez (D-Jersey City), and Julio Marenco (D-North Bergen) – have committed to running with Fulop, although it remains unclear whether Allen will seek re-election to a second term.