Montclair Sees Jump In Number Of Women Seeking Office: Election 2024

MONTCLAIR, NJ — Montclair is seeing a big increase in the number of women who are interested in running for a seat in their local government this year, a report says.

A dozen women have picked up packets to run for office in the 2024 Montclair municipal election so far. For more than 10 years, only two out of seven council members sitting on the dais at one time have been women, Montclair Local reported earlier this week.

The filing deadline for candidates is Feb. 29.

The election will take place on Tuesday, May 14. In total, seven seats will be up for grabs: mayor, two at-large council members, and a council member in each of the four wards.

Learn more about the candidate requirements, how to run, the election timeline, ward maps and other election information here.

According to the Montclair Township Clerk’s Office, here are the candidates who have picked up packets as of Feb. 14 (article continues below):

Over the past year, there have been accusations that Montclair has lost some key female town staff members due to a “toxic work environment” at the top levels of the municipal government. These accusations contributed to the council’s decision to cut ties with its former town manager in April 2023.

• See Related: More Women Level Accusations Against Montclair Town Manager
• See Related: 'CEO Of Montclair' Gets The Boot; Council Votes To Remove Stafford

Women continue to hold less than a third of all municipal offices nationwide, according to data released by the Center for American Women and Politics in 2023.

In New Jersey, women composed about 30.6 percent of all elected municipal posts in towns and cities with populations over 10,000 people, the center said.

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