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Jake Ephros | |
|---|---|
| Member-elect of the City Council in Jersey City from Ward D | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2026 | |
| Preceded by | Yousef J. Saleh |
| Personal details | |
| Born | |
| Nationality | American |
| Party | Independent |
| Other political affiliations | Democratic Socialists of America |
| Residence | Jersey City,New Jersey |
Jake Ephros is an American politician,teacher,and activist who is the councilman-elect for Ward D of the Jersey City council. He was elected in a runoff election on December 2,2025,after placing second place in the general election on November 4,2025. [1] He and fellow councilman-elect Joel Brooks are the first socialist politicians elected in New Jersey in over a century. [2]
Ephros is a member of the North New Jersey chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America,which endorsed him during the 2025 election. [3]
Ephros was born in Montclair,New Jersey. Ephros graduated from American University in 2018,later becoming an adjunct professor at Saint Peter’s University and Hudson County Community College. [4]
Ephros was involved in union organizing after graduating. He trained with SEIU 32BJ and campaigned for the right to counsel for tenants in Jersey City. [5] [6] He volunteered for Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign. In 2024,he supported the Uncommitted National Movement's protest against American support for Israel in the Gaza War,accusing the Biden administration of committing genocide. [7] [8]
Ephros announced a run for Jersey City council in 2024,on a platform of expanding rent control and universal childcare. [9] Ephros was endorsed by Run for Something , mayoral candidate James Solomon,Assemblywoman Katie Brennan,and fellow DSA member Joel Brooks. [10] [11] [12] He was also supported by a fundraising effort with the slogan "Socialist cash takes out capitalist trash," a project of DSA's national electoral committee. [13]
In the general election on November 4,2025,he placed in second place behind Catherine Healy,the daughter of former Mayor Jeramiah Healy. He was able to defeat Healy in the runoff with 3,020 votes to Healy's 1,915,on December 3. [14] New Jersey Monitor and People's World attributed Ephros and Brooks' electoral successes to them focusing on affordability and quality-of-life issues. [15] [16]
Ephros identifies as a democratic socialist and supports founding an "formal independent political party" separate from the Democratic Party. [17] After his victory,Ephros explained to Jacobin that "[Socialism] can’t be abstract. It can’t be academic only. If we want to win popular support,we need to pick up the trash. We need to pave the roads. We need to keep people in their houses." [18] In 2023,Ephros co-signed a letter with other Jewish socialists declaring themselves to be pro-Palestine and opposing Zionism. [19] Ephros has expressed support for increased civilian oversight of police. [20]
He is a member of Bread and Roses,a Marxist caucus of DSA. [21] He is one of four Bread and Roses members to hold electoral office,the others being Jesse Brown,Richie Floyd of St. Petersburg,Florida,and JP Lyninger of Louisville,Kentucky. [22] [23] [24] Movimento Revista, a publication of the Socialist Left Movement of the Brazilian Socialism and Liberty Party described Ephros' campaign as implementing Bread and Roses' "1-2-3-4 plan" to establish the DSA as an independent socialist party. [25]