Two Democratic assemblywomen facing a contested primary in the 37th legislative district today received the endorsement of popular former Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, who represented the district in Trenton for three decades.
Weinberg is backing incumbents Shama Haider (D-Tenafly) and Ellen Park (D-Englewood Cliffs for a seat she held from 1992 to 2005, when she was elected to the Senate.
In a primary without a county organization line, Weinberg could be the premier endorsement in the race for two Bergen County Assembly seats.
“In a time when our most basic rights are under attack – from voting rights to reproductive freedom – we need leaders who not only show up, but stand up,” Weinberg stated. “Assemblywomen Haider and Park have deep roots in this community, and they’ve dedicated their time in office to protecting the civil rights of every resident. In the age of Trump and his imitators, their work to defend our democracy and safeguard the progress we’ve made could not be more important. I’m proud to endorse them in this year’s election.”
Haider and Park race two candidates backed by gubernatorial candidate Steve Fulop in the Democratic primary: Tamar Warburg, a Teaneck Democratic leader and general counsel of the Jewish Community Foundation of MetroWest NJ, and Tenafly Councilman Dan Park. This could be Fulop’s strongest slate in the state, not including the 25th, where the Morris County Democratic organization isn’t contesting the Jersey City mayor’s picks.
Weinberg’s retirement in 2021 set up a path for Haider and Park to go to the Assembly. The two sitting members of the lower house, Gordon Johnson (D-Englewood) and Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-Englewood), both gave up their seats to run for Senate. Weinberg strongly endorsed Johnson and his running mates, Haider and Park, in the Democratic primary. Johnson won with 72%.
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