Livingston Council member Rosy Bagolie will seek the soonto- be open seat in the state Assembly for the 27th district, which includes parts of Essex County, including Livingston, and Morris County. The decision must be approved by the Democratic County Committee through a vote.
Bagolie told the Tribune that she was surprised to be approached about the position late last week, but was honored to be considered and is excited for the opportunity to represent Livingston on the state level.
“I am profoundly grateful and humbled to be considered as a candidate for the Democratic nomination for New Jersey State Assembly in the 27th district,” Bagolie said in a statement to the Tribune. “Approval by the county committee would not just be an honor for me but a milestone for diversity and inclusion as I would not only be the first Latina in history to represent the district but the first Jewish assemblywoman from Essex County in decades and the first Livingston resident to serve in the legislature since 1977. As an educator with 22 years of experience in public service, I welcome the opportunity to represent the citizens of Livingston, and the entire district, with honor, conviction, and integrity.”
If approved, Bagolie will run on a Democratic ticket in November with Essex County Commissioner Brendan Gill, who will be running for the other open seat in the Assembly, and Assemblyman John McKeon, who will be running to fill former governor Richard Codey’s Senate seat. Last week, Codey announced that he will retire after a 50 year career in public office, rather than seeking re-election in November. Earlier this year, Assemblywoman Mila Jasey announced that she would not seek re-election to her 28th district Assembly seat.
A15-year Livingston resident, Bagolie began her term on the Council just eight months ago, in January. The first woman to serve in the position since 2014, shewas selected by the Livingston Democratic County Committee to replace retiring Council member Rudy Fernandez in early 2022. She ran on the Democratic ticket with incumbent Council members Ed Meinhardt and Shawn Klein.
Bagolie, 43, is superintendent and principal of the East Newark School. A bi-racial Hispanic-Jewish woman, her mother’s family fled Holland, escaping Hitler and Nazi persecution, settling first in Curaçao and then in the Dominican Republic. Her father is Dominican, of Haitian descent. Bagolie immigrated to the U.S. from the Dominican Republic at the age of seven with her parents and three older sisters.
Should Bagolie be selected and ultimately win the race for the Assembly seat, she would finish out 2023 on the Township Council, before beginning her new role in January of 2024. At that point, the Livingston Democratic County Committee would select three new Town Council candidates for the remaining Council members to choose from. Should the Council not choose one of the three candidates, the Livingston Democratic County Committee would instead vote on the selection.
Whomever is chosen as Bagolie’s replacement on the Council would fill the role for the remainder of 2024, but would have to run in the primary election next June and subsequent special election in November of 2024 to retain the seat for the balance of the term. Two other seats, currently held by Mayor Michael Vieira and Deputy Mayor Al Anthony, are also up for a vote in 2024.
The term for Bagolie’s seat will then expire at the end of 2026, meaning that another primary and general election for the seat (along with two others, Council members Ed Meinhardt and Shawn Klein, for a total of three of the five Council seats) would occur in 2026.
When Bagolie was selected as the candidate to replace the retiring Fernandez, residents Ketan Bhuptani and Sam Messer were also considered for the role. After Bagolie was selected, Messer chose to run for the seat in 2022 as an independent.
According to a memorandum of understanding that was reached with the Livingston Democratic County Committee last year, Bhuptani agreed not to run in that contest on assurances he would be considered when a Council seat opened up in the future. Prior to the 2022 election, Vieira stated that he and Bhuptani would run together on the Democratic ticket in 2024.Anthony, Vieira’s running mate in 2020, said he was not consulted in that decision. It is unclear if that memorandum – which sources said was never formally signed or voted on, and is not a legally binding document – would be honored by those making the selection for the seat next year.
