By Matthew Gilson | The Save Jersey Blog
Over the last year, Save Jerseyans, the New Jersey College Republican state committee has been a revolving door with no less than five changes at the position of chairman.
Instability has rocked the once powerful organization, somewhat reflective of the New Jersey Republican Party as of late, but strong individual chapters have preserved the influence of college volunteers in campaigns across the state. The traditional powers such as Rutgers, TCNJ and Seton Hall played pivotal roles in legislative and county races despite the turmoil occurring at the top.
In an effort to restore stability, NJCR Treasurer and Rutgers Chairman, Donald Coughlan, today announced his candidacy for chairman of the organization. Don is New Jersey born and bred and here to stay to grow the next generation of Republican leaders in New Jersey.
Coughlan touted a history of youth GOP activism in his release:
Donald Coughlan is a James Dickson Carr Scholar in the Rutgers Business School and third-generation resident of Mantua, NJ majoring in Finance and Political Science with a minor in Economics. Donald has been interested in politics since he was young and became involved in 2009 when he volunteered for Governor Christie’s campaign. In addition to volunteering on many campaigns, he campaigned and was elected to the Clearview Regional Board of Education in 2011 during his senior year of high school, becoming one of the youngest elected officials in NJ. While in college, Donald has continued his involvement on the Clearview Regional Board of Education advocating for reform within the district. At Rutgers, Donald is a founding member of the Rutgers chapter of Alpha Delta Phi, Chairman of the Rutgers College Republicans and Treasurer for the New Jersey College Republicans, a graduate of the Rutgers Rising Leaders Institute, and a member of Phi Beta Lambda earning an award in Macroeconomics at the 2013 National Convention. In addition, he works as a Resident Assistant and is the Sony Student Ambassador for Rutgers University.
I’m told Coughlan has reached out and assembled a ticket consisting of leaders from many schools that will provide strong leadership for the organization moving forward. It will be important to be forward as united a front as possible as we move forward into a pivotal 2014 election season.
His ticket includes the following CRs:
Chairman: Don Coughlan (Rutgers)
Co-Chair: Nick LaRotonda (Stockton)
Treasurer: Kelsey Shannon (Drew)
Secretary: Katie Cericola (Seton Hall)
Northern Regional Chair: Amanda Silvestri (FDU)
Central Regional Chair: Colin Snell (TCNJ)
Southern Regional Chair: Shannon Smith (Rowan)
It is unknown at the present time whether current interim-Chair Evan Draim, a freshman from Princeton and resident of Virginia, will seek a full term. Interim Co-Chair Chris Gabbett, the chairman at Ramapo College, announced his intention to run for a full term via Facebook a few days ago, sources have told me.
While Save Jersey does not endorse in GOP electoral or leadership primaries, I am proud to personally support Don, as do my successors at Seton Hall. Many other chapters have also lined behind Don and more are just waiting for final confirmation as this is a very fluid situation.
He also enjoys the support of the 2012-2013 Chairman, Connor Montferrat, as well as many other former New Jersey College Republican leaders who have gone on to do important things in our state. The accomplishment of former NJCR and chapter chairs shows the importance of this organization in sculpting the future of our state. It is time we unite behind Don and return stability and a “Jersey guy” back to the top of this important organization.
