ACTIVIST DEAN DAFIS RUNNING FOR TC; WOULD BE FIRST GAY MEMBER

Just days after we broke the news that Township Committee member India Larrier is not running for re-election this year, local political and community activist Dean Dafis announced he is running for that seat. 

Dafis, who played a major role in TC Member Frank McGehee's 2016 campaign, issued a letter to supporters today announcing his run.

See the full letter HERE.

It stated, in part:

My run is all about YOU. If you share the belief that all politics is local, join me in fighting for our community’s diversity/inclusion, affordability, economic prosperity, educational opportunity, senior services, public safety, and responsible development. Keeping Maplewood strong is the first defense in the resistance against the attack on our country's founding principles and our community’s core values.

My partner George Forbes and I moved to Maplewood nearly two years ago. We were attracted to Maplewood's charm, diversity, welcoming spirit, and progressive values. I hit the ground running within my first months here, first helping Committeeman Frank McGehee get elected as his campaign co-manager, and then joining the Community Coalition on Race. CCR’s mission and history in shaping our wonderful community really resonate with me. Then I joined the Maplewood Memorial Library Foundation; the library is the cornerstone of our community and I learned English alongside my mother in ESL classes at our local library. Most recently, the Township appointed me to the Green Team Advisory Committee; sustaining our planet for future generations is vital to our survival.

Dafis, a former securities litigator, is with Artemis Executive Search and Consulting in New York. He moved to Maplewood two years ago and has also been involved in the Communtiy colaition on Rae and is a member of the Maplewood Library Foundation and the Green Team Advisory Committee.

If elected, he would be the first openly gay Township Committee member in township history. 

Dafis' letter also claims he has the support of all Township Committee members, except Larrier.

He will participate in the Maplewood Democratic Club endorsement interviews in March for the Democratic Primary set for June. If he is endorsed he would share the ticket with Mayor Vic Deluca, who has also said he is running for re-election.