Balvir Singh elected to State Assembly

Burlington County Commissioner Balvir Singh won a New Jersey State Assembly seat today and will fill the unexpired term of now-Rep. Herbert Conaway, Jr. (D-Delran).

Singh defeated Moorestown Councilwoman and former Mayor Nicole Gillespie 172-93, a 65%-35% margin, in a special election convention of county committee members from seventeen municipalities in the 7th legislative district.

While Singh will get roughly eleven months in the Assembly, he still has more contests ahead in the coming months: a convention to secure the organization slogan in what will likely be a lineless, office block ballot; and a June Democratic primary.  Gillespie has not said if she intends to take this election to the voters.

Voting machines were used in today’s election.

Party leaders had initially proposed that Dan O’Connell, a former county commissioner, serve as an interim replacement and permit voters to choose a candidate for the open seat in the June 10 Democratic primary, but county committee members rejected that idea, which triggered today’s Gillespie vs. Singh showdown.  Gillespie supported the measure – so did County Chairman Matt Riggins, State Sen. Troy Singleton (D-Delran), and U.S. Senator Andy Kim, a Burlington County native.  Singh opposed it.  Gillespie was hampered by a shorter-than-expected window to seek county committee support.

“I want to congratulate Balvir Singh on his victory in our county convention today,” Riggins said.  “Balvir will be an effective Assemblyman for our district and I wish him success as he begins his next journey in public service.”

Singh is expected to take office when the Assembly meets next week. He must resign his county commissioner seat, which is not up until 2026, so his departure will trigger a special primary and general election this year to fill his unexpired term; in the meantime, the Burlington Democratic county committee will select an interim county commissioner.

He becomes the third new member of the Assembly this year: Melinda Kane (D-Cherry Hill) won the 6th district seat of Pamela Lampitt, who was elected Camden County Clerk, and Al Abdelaziz (D-Paterson) succeeded Benjie Wimberly (D-Paterson), who had won now-U.S. Rep. Nellie Pou’s State Senate seat in the 35th.

A teacher born in India, Singh began his political career in 2014 when he won a Burlington Township school board seat; he and Tom Pullion flipped seats on the all-Republican freeholder board in 2017.

Assembly Majority Whip Carol Murphy (D-Mount Laurel) is seeking re-election to a fifth term in the 7th district.  She was named Assembly Health Committee chair this week.