Millburn Lawyer Seeks 27th District Assembly Seat

Ellen Steinberg, of Millburn-Short Hills, filed petitions Monday to run for State Assembly as a Democrat in the June 7 Primary in the new 27th District.

The former Millburn-Short Hills Township Committee member said she hoped to "go to Trenton to stand up to Gov. [Chris] Christie."  

“I am running because I believe we need Democrats who can stand up to the Governor for the things we value—quality public education, jobs, women’s health, choice, and the welfare of our seniors," she said Monday. "We need to support our teachers and not allow them to be made into scapegoats." 

As a resident and property owner in Millburn and a former property owner in Chatham, Steinberg said she understands how difficult the tax burden can be for residents of Northern New Jersey.

"We need to stop increasing the property tax burden on the middle class," she said.

In addition to Millburn, the recent redistricting includes towns from both Morris and Essex counties, including Caldwell, Chatham Township, East Hanover, Essex Fells, Florham Park, Hanover, Harding, Livingston, Madison, Maplewood, Roseland, South Orange and West Orange.

Democrats John McKeon, of West Orange, and Mila Jasey, of South Orange, represent the current 27th District and are seeking re-election. 

Chatham Township Mayor Nicole Hagner and Lee Holtzman, of Livingston, will run for the district's Assembly seats on the Republican ticket. 

Richard Codey, a former governor from Roseland, along with Republicans William H. Earmes, of Whippany, and William Sullivan, of Essex Fells, filed for the district's Senate seat.

"We need elected officials who will work for the people and not for themselves," Steinberg said. "I believe our communities should be better represented in Trenton."

Steinberg has been actively involved in the community, receiving the 2009  Kiwanis Leadership and Humanitarian Award. She currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Museum of Early Trades & Crafts in Madison and chairs the Union County Senior Council. Before moving to Millburn she was the Municipal Chair of the Chatham Democrats and is now Secretary of the Essex County Democratic Women.

A longtime New Jersey resident, Steinberg said she left the corporate world to start her own business. Ten years later, while running her company full-time, she earned a law degree from Seton Hall University and has been an attorney in private practice for the last 15 years.

In 2005, Steinberg was elected to the township committee in Millburn-Short Hills, where she served until 2009.

She grew up in Hillside and graduated from the University of Michigan. Before moving to Short Hills, she lived in Chatham for 17 years.