Haider gets hometown endorsements in Tenafly

Tenafly Mayor Mark Zinna and three members of the borough council have endorsed Assemblywoman Shama Haider (D-Tenafly) and Ellen Park (D-Englewood Cliffs) for re-election in a race where one of the candidates challenging the incumbents in the Democratic primary serves as a Tenafly councilman.

Haider, the Tenafly Democratic municipal chairman, and Ellen Park face Daniel Park, a four-term Tenafly councilman.  Daniel Park is running with Tamar Warburg in the 37th legislative ticket on a slate allied with gubernatorial candidate Steve Fulop, the three-term mayor of Jersey City.

Council President Adam Michaels and Councilmembers Julie O’Connor and Venugopal Menon joined Zinna in endorsing the incumbent lawmakers.  That number will drop tomorrow when Menon, who lost the June 2024 Democratic primary, leaves office.

“Assemblywomen Shama Haider and Ellen Park have been extraordinary leaders for our district,” Zinna said. “Their compassion, dedication, and accessibility are unmatched. Whether it’s leading the charge in flood mitigation in New Jersey, fighting for small businesses, or championing environmental sustainability, they consistently prioritize the needs of the people they serve.”

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.

Menon will be replaced by Lauren Dayton, a former councilwoman who won the Democratic primary by 47 votes, 621-574.   Dayton challenged Haider for the State Assembly in 2021 – there were two open seats after Assemblymembers Gordon Johnson (D-Englewood) and Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Englewood) faced off for an open State Senate seat; Haider ran with Johnson, and Dayton was on a ticket with Huttle.

In 2023, Haider pulled party support for Dayton’s re-election to the council and she lost the Democratic primary to Beatriz Pelaez-Martinez, the top vote-getter; running off the line, Dayton trailed incumbent Jeffrey Grossman, 666-448.

Grossman was arrested on child pornography charges in October 2023.  He resigned from the council one week after his arrest but remained on the ballot.  He was charged six weeks after the deadline to withdraw from the race, and three weeks after vote-by-mail ballots had already gone out.  No Republicans had filed.

As a result, Grossman ran a distant fourth and independents picked up two seats after Jamie Corsair edged out Pelaez-Martinez by eleven votes.