Neena Singh Named Mayor of Montgomery Township, Becoming the First Indian American Woman Mayor in New Jersey

Neena Singh, the newly appointed mayor of Montgomery Township in New Jersey, made history last week by becoming the first Sikh and Indian American woman mayor in the state. The former deputy mayor and township committeewoman was unanimously selected to serve as mayor by her fellow Township Committee members.

Mayor Neena Singh and Deputy Mayor Vincent Barragan were selected by their peers to lead the township. Mayor Singh is the first elected Sikh and Indian-American woman serving as mayor in New Jersey, and Deputy Mayor Barragan is the first Latinx deputy mayor in the township. pic.twitter.com/9nXia7x3Uq

— Montgomery Township (@InMontgomeryNJ) January 5, 2024

Speaking at her Jan. 4 swearing-in ceremony, Singh described the day as “a historic moment for our community and our entire state.” She said she is “grateful” to her fellow committee members for their support. “I am also incredibly proud of our township for, once again, breaking barriers and showing our state what inclusive, transparent and forward-thinking governance looks like.” 

She said she came to America with the same hopes and aspirations as the country’s forefathers. “I thank God that my family and I settled in beautiful Montgomery Township—a town that is representative of the American Dream. It offers all its people the opportunity to develop better, richer, and fuller lives.” 

Meanwhile, in South Jersey, Pakistani American Fozia Januja was selected mayor of Mount Laurel at the Jan. 3 council reorganization meeting. She is the first Muslim and South Asian woman to lead the township. Addressing the crowd after her swearing-in, she “touted the township’s past accomplishments, mentioned her anticipation of future achievements and praised the municipality’s diversity since she first assumed a Council seat in 2021,” Tap into Mount Laurel reported. 

Singh was sworn into office along with Deputy Mayor Vincent Barragan and Committeewoman Patricia Taylor Todd by Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman. In a press release, Coleman said Singh “embodies commitment to public service, and has made her life’s work fighting for social justice, economic opportunity, and human rights for all.”

Also in attendance were Rep. Andy Kim (D-N.J.), State Sen. Andrew Zwicker and Assembly Members Roy Freiman and Sadaf Jaffer, former Montgomery Township mayor, and Hoboken Mayor Ravi Bhalla. Singh received video messages congratulating her from Sen. Cory Booker and state Sen. Vin Gopal, mycentraljersey.com reported. “For every young South Asian girl growing up not just in Montgomery but across New Jersey, they’re going to have a true role model to look up to,” the report quoted Gopal as saying. 

This was a great week for representative & inclusive government! When I was sworn in as mayor of Montgomery Township in January 2019, I became the first South Asian woman to serve as mayor in New Jersey. This week, 3 amazing South Asian women have been sworn in as NJ mayors (1/2) pic.twitter.com/Gd3j8mKF2t

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— NJ Asw. Sadaf Jaffer (@sadafjaffer) January 5, 2024

The Montgomery News notes that the mayor “presides at meetings of the township committee and has the power to appoint subcommittees with the consent of the township committee.” Additionally, the mayor also has the power “to make proclamations concerning holidays and events of interest in the township, and to exercise the ceremonial power of the township.”

Singh, who has lived in Montgomery for 25 years, was appointed to the Montgomery Township Committee in 2021 to fill the unexpired term of Committeewoman Catherine Gural (D). In her professional life, she works as a senior partner with Keller Williams Cornerstone Realty in Belle Mead. She holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and English literature from Kurukshetra University in India. Her husband Paramjit Singh runs a life sciences consulting company. The couple has three adult children.

Jaffer led previously led Montgomery for two one-year terms, from Jan. 3, 2019, to Dec. 31, 2020. She became the first South Asian woman mayor in New Jersey and the first Pakistani American woman mayor in the U.S. Last year, she, along with Shama Haider, former chair of the Democratic Party in Tenafly, became the first Muslim Americans elected to the New Jersey Legislature. Jaffer, who was elected from the 16th district, chose not to run for reelection to focus on her work in higher education and spend some more time with her family. She serves as a postdoctoral research associate in South Asian studies at Princeton University, where she teaches courses on South Asian, Islamic and Asian-American studies.

Janjua has served on the council since 2021 and was selected as deputy mayor last year. She was raised in San Francisco, and has co-founded a non-profit organization, Community SJP, which provides meals for those in need, secures school supplies and distributes blankets to hospitals and shelters. Janjua is married to her husband, Safeer, and has four sons. She is currently a First Grade teacher at Westfield Friends School in Cinnaminson.