This is a statement by Sadaf Jaffer, former Mayor of Montgomery Township, New Jersey, to the Montgomery Township Committee. I fully agree with her that “the public deserves clear answers and ethical leadership,” and urge others who agree to contact the Committee and make your views known. I’m pleased to say that Sadaf has agreed to be featured in a future edition of my Activist Interviews series, where I’m sure we’ll hear more about the backstory here. More soon.

Good evening. I am a former mayor of Montgomery Township, a former Assemblywoman, and a former chair of Montgomery’s Democratic Organization.

On multiple occasions over the past year, Mayor Neena Singh and Deputy Mayor Vince Barragan told me, and told others, that Montgomery Township was being denied county and state public funds because of my opposition to Israeli and U.S. policy in Gaza.

I am here to demand clarity and transparency about these claims, because if accurate, they describe a profound ethical breach. Public funds belong to residents. They are not a bargaining chip to punish dissent. Using, or threatening to use, public resources in this way is an abuse of public authority.

On January 13, 2025, Deputy Mayor Barragan requested a Zoom meeting attended by Mayor Singh, Committeewoman Patricia Taylor Todd, and the vice chair of the local Democratic Party. During that meeting, I was presented with several grievances:

First, that I did not force former Mayor Devra Keenan to vote for Mayor Singh during the reorganization.

Second, that I did not publicly congratulate Mayor Singh at last year’s reorganization meeting.

Third, that I corrected a factual statement: that there had already been two Indian American women mayors before Mayor Singh (myself and Eman El-Badawi).

And most significantly, fourth, my opposition to Israeli and U.S. policy in Gaza. At that point, the mayor and deputy mayor claimed that public funds were being withheld from Montgomery Township because of my stance.

The meeting concluded with a demand from the mayor and deputy mayor that I resign so that Montgomery could receive these funds, which I declined.

On January 18, Mayor Singh and Deputy Mayor Barragan convened another meeting of Democratic district representatives at Cherry Valley Country Club. Deputy Mayor Barragan stated at the outset that he had discussed the meeting with Montgomery’s Township Attorney. In front of roughly twenty witnesses, the same claim was repeated: that public funds were allegedly being withheld from our town because of my stance on Gaza, and that my removal was necessary to resolve this issue. The district representatives present declined to remove me from my position.

At the end of my term, I chose not to seek another as party chair. However, the ethical concerns for Montgomery Township residents remain.

The Montgomery Township Committee must publicly clarify which county or state officials made threats—explicit or implicit—to withhold public funds from Montgomery Township based on a resident’s political speech opposing Israeli and U.S. policy in Gaza. The Township Committee must also affirm that public funds will no longer be used, or represented as being used, to police speech, suppress dissent, or marginalize communities, including pro-Palestinian and Muslim residents.

The public deserves clear answers and ethical leadership. Thank you.