Malia Herman

My name is Malia Herman, and I am running for the Maplewood Township Committee. I am a 10-year resident of Maplewood, married 16 years to a West Orange native, and the mom of two kids — grades 6 and 8 — and two dogs. 

Although I consider myself a Jersey Girl, I did not grow up here. My dad was in the military, and after Vietnam, he was transferred to the Kaneohe Marine Corps Base in Hawaii, which is where I was born. I did not grow up in the glitzy, resort side, but in the residential part, in a one-story home with three bedrooms and no air-conditioning.

It was, as it turned out, the perfect place for my non-typical family to make our home.

My mom is Mexican and of Aztec and Apache native descent who didn’t learn English until grade school. Since my grandfather was a janitor and my grandmother was a cafeteria worker, my mom worked hard to put herself through community college. Her relationship with my dad, who is white and from a middle-class midwestern family, was not widely accepted. Having a sister adopted from Korea made our family even more diverse.

I learned at an early age how to navigate nosey and insensitive questions and make peace with and embrace our differences.

I also learned at an early age the value of community service.

Every year, our church youth group would travel to another city to volunteer with community cleanups. In high school, we traveled to Mexico to build simple-frame houses. We had to pay our way on these trips, and so to earn money, I did various odd jobs, including house cleaning.

As an adult, my husband and I volunteered with Habitat for Humanity in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. We also volunteered regularly with One Brick, helping at Lupus Foundation walks, food pantries and neighborhood cleanup projects.

When we moved to Maplewood, volunteering came easy. Whenever I was asked to help, I said yes. I’ve been a class parent, a Tuscan Show director, and a Girl Scout leader, all experiences that were extremely time consuming, but also, immensely rewarding.

For the past six years, I have been a community advocate for neurodivergent and disabled children and their families, as a former president and current member of the executive board of SEPAC — the Special Education Parent Advisory Committee. I believe strongly that the families and children I have worked with through SEPAC deserve to be included in all Maplewood events and programs.

As a member of the Maplewood Pool Advisory Committee for the past nine years, I have worked hard to make the pool more accessible, including the now-discontinued weekend-only memberships, and recent opening of swim lessons to non-members. I continue to push for more affordable rates and swim lessons for all ages, including adults, and children with disabilities. I believe strongly that every Maplewood resident should be able to learn to swim — at affordable rates and times convenient to working families.

I was also a founding member of the SOMA chapter of Moms Demand Action, and I have been a champion for residents in our community and beyond who demand common sense gun safety laws. I believe strongly that we need more restorative justice and social workers — in schools and in our community — instead of more guns.

Before moving to Maplewood, I worked for 17 years as a reporter for The Associated Press and Gannett/USA Today, first in Charleston,W.Va., where I traversed the state doing an award-winning series on home health care disparities, then in in Washington, D.C., where I covered critical congressional hearings and pending legislation.

For the past 10 years, I’ve worked as a freelance writer for Education Week Market Brief and the American Heart Association’s Million Hearts Collaboration, but you can also find stories I’ve written about local issues, programs and businesses in Matters Magazine and The Village Green.

As a special needs mom who is raising two children in an interfaith/Jewish family, I have found an acceptance and belonging here in Maplewood that I cherish. This is why inclusion — and acceptance — matter so much to me.

As a community volunteer and advocate, I know the hard work and persistence required to get things done.

I am running for the Maplewood Township Committee because I want to do the hard work required to address the needs of the community we love, and make sure that everyone feels welcomed and accepted.

I believe strongly in Democracy, and I believe voters deserve a choice. I am running to bring an independent mind, new ideas and a fresh perspective to town government. Thank you.

Please VOTE for me, Malia Herman, in the Democratic primary election on June 4.