First Indian woman on Jersey City Council opens up about depression

Even though Jersey City has the highest proportion of Indians of any major U.S. city, it only elected its first Indian woman councilmember this fall. 

Mamta Singh, who was a successful wedding planner in India, never expected her path to lead to local politics. But since moving to the U.S., she has become a community organizer and nonprofit leader with a passion for advocating for her community.

After a failed effort to become county commissioner in 2023, Singh ran for city council, endorsed by newly inaugurated Mayor James Solomon.

Solomon, a Jersey City council member since 2017, defeated former Gov. Jim McGreevey in a runoff in December. He built a platform centered on affordability and challenging developer influence. As part of her campaign, Singh also focused on affordability and delivering “stable property taxes, more youth recreation, and stronger city services for Jersey City’s working families.”

I met her for the first time in December at an Indian Classical music event on Jersey City’s Grove Street, where the performers invited her to speak.

“When you are a young mom moving from a different country, you feel your career is over, your life is ending,” she said, holding the mic close and smiling widely. “I’ve gone through all the emotions, and I can tell you this: Jersey City has so much to offer. You can be and do what you want to.”

Singh was a successful wedding planner in India, but she couldn’t find a job in her field after getting married and moving to the U.S. in 2006. Soon, she became a mother and found herself isolated on the journey of caring for a newborn.

“I fell into postpartum depression. I used to cry a lot, craving for my family. Then I thought, you know, there might be other people craving for the same support or community. So I started organizing,” she said.

In 2010, Singh founded Jersey City (JC) Families, one of the largest and fastest-growing nonprofit organizations in the city, which hosts monthly events for local businesses and currently boasts 60,000 members, including a large Instagram following. The group’s guiding belief, according to its website, “Family is the most important thing in the world.”

Her organization has become a trusted bridge for both long-time residents and new immigrants navigating schools, city systems, and support groups.

Singh told me she was never a top student, unlike her elder sister. 

“My family didn’t expect much from me,” she said.

Still, she was determined to work and chart her own path. She pursued a degree in literature and, because of her interest in fashion and events, became a wedding planner in Jaipur. 

“It was not that easy, especially for a girl 20 to 25 years ago,” she said.

Now, she is the first person in her family to have become a politician. It all began in 2017, when she met Solomon, then a candidate for city council, through one of her networking events. She connected his team with members of JC Families.

“It happened organically; it was never the plan,” she said of her foray into politics. Even though she didn’t win her race for county commissioner, she said, “I am thankful for my loss [in 2023], because I learned a lot by doing everything on my own the first time.”

In her first month of serving as a councilmember, she said she will prioritize making NJ Transit more consistent, publishing government records, and holding community hearings.

“I’m excited and nervous, because I know I’ll have to work harder than anyone else,” she said. “I want to deliver [for] the people, and I’m not going to take anything for granted.”

Navya Asopa is a 2025-26 reporting fellow at Central Desi and a freelance journalist based in New Jersey. Her reporting focuses on labor, immigration, and India-US relations. She recently graduated from Columbia University with a master's in investigative journalism.

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