Jersey City school board president not running for reelection, citing health concerns

By Joshua Rosario | The Jersey Journal

Jersey City School Board President Mussab Ali will not run for re-election in November due to health concerns.

Ali, who was diagnosed with Stage 4 Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, said is still undergoing chemotherapy treatments.

“I am not even in remission yet,” Ali, 24, told The Jersey Journal. “I would hate to put myself in the position and put voters in the position where I am running for an elected office while also dealing with a health condition.

“If I knew that we were past this I would think this issue would be a lot easier, but I think today it is kind of unfair both to myself and to voters to ask them to vote for me not knowing what the future holds here.”

Ali, the youngest member of the school board, noted that his doctors are very optimistic about his condition. But he said the longer the process takes, the more it takes from him.

“I think for me it has always been about ‘Can I give 100%? Can I be the most effective person in this role’,” Ali said. “I feel like I have been able to be effective in my position ... I don’t feel I have dropped things and been a no-show. … But at the same time it does get harder the longer it goes.”

Both children and adults can develop Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, but it’s most common in early adulthood, especially in people in their 20s. Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is a cancer of the lymphatic system, in which cells in the lymphatic system grow abnormally and may spread beyond it.

The five-year survival rate for patients in stage 4 is 81%, according to the American Cancer Society.

Ali, board Trustee Marilyn Roman and Joan Terrell Paige’s seats are up in November. Those seeking to fill the three-year seats have until July 26 to submit their petitions.

Ali is supporting 22-year-old Younass Barkouch, a recent graduate of Rutgers University and like Ali, a McNair Academic High School graduate. Barkouch moved to Jersey City from Morocco when he was 6 years old.

“Thanks to Mussab running and winning he kind of showed people that younger people can be part of this board of education and decide how the quality of education is administered in Jersey City,” Barkouch said.