Candidate Puts Hat In Ring For Sussex County’s NJ-11 Race

SUSSEX COUNTY, NJ — Tayfun Selen is looking to unseat U.S. Rep. Mikie Sherrill in 2022, D-11th Dist., who represents Sussex County in Hopatcong, Sparta, Byram, Ogdensburg and Stanhope.

Selen currently serves on the Morris County Board of County Commissioners and is a Chatham Township resident.

Having announced his campaign on Monday, Selen is the third conservative challenger that's put his hat in the ring against Sherrill, the first Hillery Brotschol, a film producer, screenwriter and Montclair State alumni, who lives in Morris County.

Tom Toomey is another running against Sherrill, who considers himself an "outsider," a longtime New Jersey resident who was a senior staff member during the 2020 campaign cycle with the Republican National Committee.

Selen, 51, who arrived in the United States from Istanbul, Turkey in 1996, said in his video, "My American Dream," which he debuted on Tuesday, that he put himself through business school after coming to the country, working as a gas station attendant.

He journeyed to the United States as an aspiring architect "with more dreams in my head and hope in my heart than dollars in my pocket or English words in my vocabulary," Selen said in his video.

In the news release about his campaign, Selen said he received a Bachelor of Science in Architecture from Istanbul Technical University, with his MBA from Montclair State University.
He is additionally a CPA and holds both LEED AP (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) and Six Sigma Black Belt certifications.

According to his website, Selen - who resides in Chatham Township with his wife and daughter - was the "first Turkish-American Mayor elected to public office in the U.S." in 2019.

After serving with Chatham Township's governing body, Selen - who is the Senior Vice President of Administration for Lincoln Educational Services - had a one-year unexpired term on the Morris County Board of County Commissioners.

Selen was re-elected to his seat on the Board for a three-year term that began on Jan. 4, 2021.

A Morris County resident for approximately 23 years - 19 years in the Chathams - Selen has also been involved on the Montclair State University School of Business Advisory Board, as President-Elect of Madison Rotary Club and with the New Jersey Board of Nursing.

For more information about Selen and his campaign, visit www.selenforcongress.com. Click here for the Tayfun Selen for Congress Facebook Page.

The 11th district includes the following municipalities:
Morris County - Boonton Town, Boonton Township, Butler, Chatham Borough, Chatham Township, Denville, East Hanover, Florham Park, Hanover, Harding, Jefferson, Kinnelon, Lincoln Park, Madison, Mendham Borough, Mendham Township, Montville, Morris Plains, Morris Township, Morristown Town, Mountain Lakes, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Pequannock, Randolph, Riverdale, Rockaway Borough, Rockaway Township and Victory Gardens
Essex County - Bloomfield (split with 10th), Caldwell, Cedar Grove, Essex Fells, Fairfield, Livingston, Montclair (split with 10th), North Caldwell, Nutley, Roseland, Verona, West Caldwell, West Orange (split with 10th)
Passaic County - Bloomingdale, Little Falls, North Haledon, Pompton Lakes, Totowa, Wanaque, Wayne and Woodland Park
Sussex County - Byram, Hopatcong, Ogdensburg, Sparta and Stanhope

RELATED: Republican, MSU Alum Will Challenge Rep. Mikie Sherrill In NJ-11
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RELATED: Chatham's Tayfun Selen Announces Run Against NJ-11's Sherrill

Reporting contributed by Eric Kiefer.

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at:jennifer.miller@patch.com.