Teaneck, NJ – Mohammed Hameeduddin became the first Muslim mayor in Bergen County history Thursday, as a divided Township Council elected him after a fierce, weeks-long debate over who should take the gavel.
Hameeduddin, who won a council seat two years ago, earned five out of seven votes at the annual reorganization of township government, which took place outside the municipal building.
Councilwoman Lizette Parker, who had served as deputy mayor since her election in 2006, fell short of votes needed to become Teaneck’s first female African-American mayor.
Parker and Barbara Toffler voted for Parker, while Hameeduddin, Adam Gussen, Monica Honis, Elie Katz and Yitz Stern voted for Hameeduddin.
At recent council meetings, a number of residents had questioned whether Parker would be denied the mayor’s seat in part because of her race and gender, pointing to her status as the top vote-getter in May.
And earlier this week, while a clearly frustrated Parker stopped short of accusing her fellow council members of using her color or gender as factors in their decision-making, she said that “perception is reality” and urged the council to “do the right thing.” On Thursday, however, Parker struck a conciliatory tone, vowing to work with her colleagues.
“I am a woman of integrity and honor,” she said. “I’m not going to harbor any hostility, because if you harbor hostility, it just eats away at you. While I realize that there is disappointment for some, tomorrow is a new day, when I begin my second term on the council.”
Parker’s supporters continued to express their displeasure, with a murmuring of catcalls during the meeting, but public comments were generally more subdued.
“I’m saddened by what I believe took place this evening, with people making a decision for the wrong reasons,” said resident Angela Taylor. “I just hope, moving forward in Teaneck, we keep the youth, not personal agendas, but the youth in the forefront of our minds in our decision-making.”
Honis criticized those who suggested that race and gender had played a role.
“It’s a little disheartening for someone to call racism and sexism when that’s not the case,” she said. “In this case, it wasn’t. It was purely a matter of policy. I think it does a disservice to the women’s movement and the civil rights movement when you call it something that it’s not.”
The role of the mayor is essentially a ceremonial one: performing marriages, making appearances and running council meetings. The mayor also holds a seat on the planning board.
This year marked the first time in memory that a mayoral selection created a public uproar, adding to the divisions that have frequently plagued politics in recent years.
Though he possesses no more power than any other council member, Hameeduddin will be seen as the township’s most visible representative as it continues to deal with a sluggish economy and lingering resentment from the public school community over the council’s decision to slice $6.1 million from the district’s budget in May.
He is one of only a handful of Muslim mayors, including Prospect Park’s Mohamed Khairullah, serving in New Jersey. His brief remarks included a nod to the historic nature of the moment, recalling that President Obama was attacked in 2008 for being a “closet Muslim.”
“In Teaneck, New Jersey, my religion never played a factor in people voting for me or against me,” he said. “That is a testament to the town that we live in.”
The council remains one of the most diverse in North Jersey, with a mixture of gender, races and religions.
Adam Gussen, who won a second term in May, was elected deputy mayor with four votes. Gussen, Parker, Elie Katz and Yitz Stern all were sworn to four-year terms.
The township also swore in its prosecutor, Deborah Veach, and its attorney, Stanley Turitz.
(Source: NorthJersey)
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13 Responses
This toooooooooolerance its just beautiful
Woo is me, another terror sleeper cell developing in Teaneck.
What type of chochma was it to elect a Muslim? He will only turn around and betray the Jews.
The kind of intolerance shown by bklynmom and Your Sister is called anti-Semitism when it is directed at Yidden – when our loyalty to this country is questioned.
I am old enough to remember when only in a NYC, and perhaps a few other urban centers, could a Jew, Catholic (or Socialist for that matter) could be elected . . . even today there are fifth column accusations made against at Jewish legislators.
I wonder whether you “ghettoized” urban core Yidden will ever wake up to the fact that it is the American culture of social and religious tolerance that allows us to thrive in this country – and that your sweeping bigoted remarks not only dismiss the possibility that this man may be a decent fellow – they also tear against the very fabric that permits you to be so comfortable in your bigotry.
Here, here YonasonW! (only I’m young LOL)
Number 4 is right on.
When 99% of GLOBAL terror is initiated, funded, carried out by those of the Muslim faith, my antennas start flickering. For all the years that Yidden have been immigrants in this country our participation in mafia, underground crime, smuggling and fighting vs infidels has been less than 1%.
I will not fall for the super tolerance of the written & vocal media who once again are blaming US involvement in Afghanistan, Pakistan and its minimum support for Israel as a carte blanch permission for Muslims to attack American interests and citizens.
BrooklynMom. Grow up. Really.
bklynmom – your antennas aren’t flkickering – they are erupting. Your statistics, by the way, need adjusting – do yourself a service and look up on any search engine the history of Jewish participation in organized crime in this country – in the 30s and 40s were were quite well represented.
More to the point – I stand by a principal my parents taught me at a young age: you measure a person by his or her character. You shhot off your mouth abour Mayor Hameeduddin without a scintella of data or knowledge about what kind of person he is; the very definition of prejudice – you pre-judge a person without knowing him.
I have a relationship bordering on a friendship with a contractor who is a self-described “Palestinian Muslim” – a fellow from from Jordan. Sure, I was a cautious when I met him – and I’m sure our politics don’t shtim, so we don’t get into politics. But I discovered him to be a hard working, honest fellow who goes out of his way to treat his customers more than fairly.
Finally, do you really think Jewish Councel members would support Hameeduddin if there was reason to be apprehensive about him?
Number 7 is right.
bklynmom, your 100% right. 90% of Muslims are brought up to hate any other religion and any people that don’t practice it. The Yidden, get a lions share of that hatred by being referred in the Koran “as Children of Pigs and Apes”.
Bottom line, the Yidden of Teaneck should wake up and smell the coffee and stop appeasing our enemies.
YonatanW,
You are 100 percent right. But take it easy on Bklynmom; in her sheltered environment she never hears about the IRA, ETA, ASALA, Tamil Tigers, Shining Path, Tupec Amaru, Naxalites, or other non-Muslim terror groups. The Tamil Tigers (Hindus) invented suicide bombing and alone have murdered more people than all Muslim terror groups combined. Fortunately the Sri Lankan government may have finally suppressed them.
How dare you call her sheltered because of where she lives. I love in Monsey and am more knowledgeable than most of your Riverdale pals.