Meet N.J.’s first Indian-American and Sikh woman mayor

Montgomery Township has made history with the election of New Jersey’s first Indian-American woman mayor, Neena Singh. She was sworn into office alongside Deputy Mayor Vincent Barragan and Committeewoman Patricia Taylor Todd on Jan. 1 by U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ-12).

Over the 24 years that Singh has lived in Montgomery, she has transitioned through many roles. She started her political career as a concerned PTA mom, a scout leader and a community volunteer. She became involved, she said, because she wanted to help shape the world her kids were growing up in.

“Martin Luther King Jr. said, ‘Volunteering is the ultimate exercise in democracy.’ You vote in elections once a year, but when you volunteer, you vote every day about the kind of community you want to live in, said Mayor Singh.

“When we volunteer, we give back; we’re getting engaged. Then, seeing us, other people get engaged, and we can make it the kind of community we all want to live in,” she said.

In addition to being the first immigrant Indian mayor, Singh says she’s also the township’s first Sikh mayor. Montgomery also has its first Korean committeeman, and a Black female committeewoman, and an Ecuadorian deputy mayor.

“I am so proud of them,” said Peg Schaffer, Somerset County’s Democratic Party chair. “Montgomery’s new governing body is representative of the rich diversity of our country’s leadership,”

Singh became involved in politics after traveling to Washington, D.C. in 2016 for the Women’s March. She said a fire was lit within, and she returned with a passion and drive to do more.

Over the last three years, she has transitioned from councilwoman to deputy mayor to now occupying the mayor’s seat. She plans to focus on improving the quality of life of her constituents, tackling issues like public transit, safety, accessibility and wellness.

Singh and other mayors throughout New Jersey have signed the Mayor’s Wellness Campaign, signaling a commitment to focusing on public health and wellness holistically.

“When we talk about health and wellness, it encapsulates everything under that; bringing communities together and having social connectivity. Wellness and health, obviously, is part of it, but safety to me is another very big part of it,” said Singh.

The population of Montgomery Township is 39% Asian, 52% white and 32% foreign-born persons. In Somerset County, Asians make up 20% of the population.

Mosaic staff writer Gabrielle Warren can be reached at gwarren@njadvancemedia.com follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

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