DeGroot Challenges Selen In Bid For Morris County Commissioner

MORRIS COUNTY, NJ — Paul DeGroot, a former Assistant Passaic County Prosecutor who ran against Rep. Mikie Sherrill last year, announced last week that he will run for a single open seat on the Morris County Board of Commissioners in the 2023 Republican primary.

The recently announced campaign sets up a rematch with incumbent Commissioner Tayfun Selen, who lost in last year's Republican primary to run for Congress.

Selen, who has been a commissioner since 2020, was widely considered the favorite in that race, winning in Morris, but DeGroot's popularity in Passaic towns boosted him past Selen and into the general election.

While DeGroot did not win against Sherrill, a Democrat seeking her third term, he stated in his announcement that the overall election result demonstrates Selen's weakness as an incumbent.

“I have already shown that Commissioner Selen can be beat and that he lacks commitment to core Republican values to represent our Republican Party,” DeGroot said. “We don’t need a weak candidate who is more concerned with taking photos with Democrats than he is with standing up for conservative Republican values.”

DeGroot stated that he intends to bring a new perspective to the commission board, including a focus on finances. According to DeGroot, while Selen has been running on a stable county tax levy for the past three years, the reality is that the county budget has increased by millions, but the increases have been offset by an increase in tax ratables due to new construction and property inflation.

“You cannot keep increasing spending and hoping that tax ratables increase year after year to cover the costs to taxpayers. Eventually, the spending will catch up to you,” DeGroot said.

The rematch will officially begin on Mar. 4 when the two men compete for the party's endorsement at the Morris County Republican Committee convention.