Mukherji names new chief of staff

Jash Gill has left his post as legislative director for the 38th district Democrats to become the new chief of staff to Assembly Judiciary Committee Chairman Raj Mukherji (D-Jersey City).

Gill, an attorney, worked as an intern for Mukherji and State Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Long Branch) before going to Bergen County to work for State Sen. Joe Lagana (D-Paramus), Assemblywoman Lisa Swain (D-Fair Lawn) and Assemblyman Christopher Tully (D-Bergenfield).   He’s a graduate of New York University and the University of Minnesota Law School.

Brooke Lockwood, Mukherjee’s current legislative aide, has been promoted to deputy chief of staff.

Mukherji has been the horse whisperer for several members of his legislative staffers who have now moved on to larger positions.

Ken McPherson III, who was chief of staff before Gill, is now an attorney at the Porzio law firm. Paulina Banasiak, who was Mukherji’s chief of staff from 2017 to 2018, is the director of legislative affairs in Gov. Phil Murphy’s office.

Cory Wolkenberg, who worked for Mukherji from 2015 to 2019 – his last year as chief of staff – is currently the legislative liaison for the New Jersey Department of State.

One of his former interns, Intashan Chowdhury, was named township administrator in Prospect Park at age 22.   Another intern, Harrison Clewell, briefly sought the Democratic nomination for State Assembly in the 21st district this year and now serves in the U.S. Army JAG Corps.

Mukherji was a young political prodigy, beginning a website business as a teenager – before he went to high school — where his clients were U.S. Senator Bob Torricelli, Democratic congressional candidate Maryanne Connelly, and Michael Murphy’s 1997 bid for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination.  He later worked for PoliticsNJ, a political news site.