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 who is the councilman-elect for Ward D of the Jersey City council. He was elected to the Jersey City council in a runoff election on December 2,2025,after placing second place in the general election on November 4,2025. [1]
Ephros is a member of the North New Jersey chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America,which endorsed him during the 2025 election. [2]
Ephros was born in Montclair,New Jersey. Ephros graduated from American University in 2018,later becoming an adjunct professor for Saint Peter’s University and Hudson County Community College. [3]
Ephros was involved in union organizing after graduating,being trained by SEIU 32BJ and campaigning for the right to counsel for tenants in Jersey City. [4] [5] 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 as committing genocide. [6] [7]
Ephros announced a run for Jersey City council in 2024,on a platform of expanding rent control and universal childcare. [8] Ephros was endorsed by mayoral candidate James Solomon,Assemblywoman Katie Brennan,and fellow DSA member Joel Brooks. [9] [10] 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. [11]
In the general election,he placed in second place,behind Catherine Healy,the daughter of former Mayor Jeramiah Healy. He defeated Healy in the runoff by 3,020 votes to 1,915. [12]
Ephros identifies as a democratic socialist and supports founding an "formal independent political party" separate from the Democratic Party. [13] He is a member of Bread and Roses,a Marxist caucus of DSA. [14] 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. [15] [16] [17]