Two Democrats will face off at a special Union County Democratic convention on August 18 to pick a candidate to succeed Joanne Rajoppi, who held the post for three decades before her death last month.
Tahirah “Tai” Cooper, an official at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, and longtime Elizabeth Councilwoman Patricia Perkins Auguste each appeared before a screening committee of Democratic municipal chairs led by Senate President Nicholas Scutari, the county chairman.
The next step will be for groups of Democratic county committee members from various municipalities to meet virtually to hear from both candidates in advance of the vote.
The Democratic nominee will be heavily favored in a county that has not elected a Republican to countywide office since 1995. The county clerk contest is expected to produce the first Black constitutional officer in county history.
Cooper is the chief community development officer at the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, where she has worked since 2019. She previously served as deputy chief policy adviser to Gov. Phil Murphy from 2018 to 2019 and led the administration’s federal Opportunity Zone initiative.
Before joining the Murphy administration, Cooper was chief policy adviser to Ras Baraka during his tenure as a Newark councilman and mayor. She also served as chief of staff to Orange Mayor Eldridge Hawkins Jr.
Cooper began her career in government as an aide to U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg from 2005 to 2008, working on economic development, employment, education, banking and urban affairs issues.
Perkins-Auguste has served as an at-large Elizabeth councilwoman since 1993 and is currently in her seventh consecutive term. She was the first Black woman elected to the city council and came within five votes of winning a State Assembly seat at a 2008 Democratic convention.
Rajoppi, 78, died on July 16 after an illness. She was first elected county clerk in 1995 and won re-election six times, most recently in 2025. She was the first and only woman to serve as Union County clerk.
During a 53-year career in New Jersey politics and government, Rajoppi also served as Springfield mayor, a Union County freeholder, county register of deeds and mortgages, and acting assistant secretary of state. She was widely regarded as one of New Jersey’s leading experts on election law and county government.
Her death triggered a special election for what will be a full five-year term.
Republicans have until August 27 to select their candidate. Union County Republican Chairman Carlos Santos said he is considering several possibilities and expects to have a nominee in place before the deadline.
Independent candidates will also have an opportunity to enter the race.
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