The Somerset County Federation of Democratic Women is honored to endorse candidate Elizabeth Graner for the Bernards Township Committee in the upcoming November 5, 2024, election.

“Elizabeth embodies the strength, resilience, and wisdom we need in our leaders. She will serve the residents of Bernards Township well when elected in November”, said SCFDW President Roberta G. Walters.

Elizabeth Graner was born in suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania as the eldest of five siblings (and the first American-born grandchild) in a large Irish American family. She attended Saint Mary’s College in Notre Dame, Indiana, where she majored in English literature and anthropology. After college and a handful of years working in Manhattan, Liz became a teacher in 1998 and has spent most of her career teaching senior English.

Leading the Social Action Club at Rahway High School, Liz worked collaboratively with the Rahway River Association to organize several cleanups of local parks. She and her students won recognition for the Water Champions program, a conservation education effort completed in cooperation with the EPA, the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, AmeriCorps, and Rutgers.

She has also coached swimming and served as a faculty adviser to the Outdoors Club, the school newspaper, and the Gay/Straight Alliance. Elizabeth mentored new and nontenured staff as a union liaison and has been a union building representative for several years.

Elizabeth served as a Union County Democratic Committeewoman, was on the Rahway Housing Authority and Rahway Library Board. She has also served on the Somerset County Commission on the Status of Women and is a Governor’s appointee to the Somerset County Board of Taxation.

Helping kids is Elizabeth’s passion, and she was a proud volunteer with the Ridge High School Drama Boosters. She has volunteered for various political campaigns since moving to New Jersey in 1994 and has also run for State Assembly.

A graduate of Leadership Somerset, Emerge America candidate training, and Building One America leadership training, Elizabeth looks forward to utilizing these skills to run for the Bernards Township Committee. Elizabeth is also the former Chair of the Bernards Township Democratic Committee. She lives in Basking Ridge with her fiancé Mike, their children Patrick (hers) and Annelise (his), and a Pointer mix named Orla.