Dennis Shulman for U.S. Congress: Sensible Leadership for New Jersey’s 5th District

Daniel Victor said he had his doubts when his childhood friend Dennis Shulman explained his plans to run for Congress. But Victor had to remind himself this was a man who always was pursuing the unlikely.

Take for instance the summer Shulman decided to learn Braille.

“I understand that’s kind of unheard of, but anything he does has been kind of unheard of,” Victor said.

Shulman’s latest venture has launched him into the world of politics, where he’s challenging three-term incumbent Scott Garrett, R-N.J., for the state’s 5th Congressional District.

In what Victor called usual fare for Shulman, the Democratic candidate is doing more than attempting to overturn the status quo with a party change.

Shulman also happens to be a blind rabbi.

If elected, he would be the first ordained rabbi on Capitol Hill and one of the few blind men to have ever served.

Shulman, a clinical psychologist, explained Wednesday during a telephone interview from the Democratic National Convention in Denver that growing up with failing eyesight taught him lessons in community that he’s never forgotten.

The support of friends

He was raised modestly in the close-knit community of Worcester, Mass. Seven of his childhood friends still unite annually to catch up, said Victor. The “Worcester Boys” are planning an unusual trip this October — they’ll be campaigning for Shulman in New Jersey.

The “extraordinary support” of his friends softened the harsh realization that by the end of college, Shulman said, his sight would be gone.

Victor said Shulman’s big personality and natural intelligence eclipsed his handicap.

“We never thought of him as disabled, as challenged in any way,” he said.

Shulman said perhaps the most difficult day of his life as a blind person occurred when he was 14 and his parents, worried about his worsening vision, took away his bicycle. A bike was a young boy’s independence and the loss was devastating, according to Shulman.

Victor appeared the next day, his bike having gone through a transformation. Foam rubber covered the cross bar in a makeshift seat created for a special passenger. Shulman said he then realized his buddies would never leave him behind because of his blindness.

“I knew then what it means to be in a community, what it means to be supported,” said Shulman, adding that it shaped his politics. “I really do believe one thing we have to do as the government is help communities, save communities. They are what helped me.”

Shulman’s campaign, which began to take shape about a year ago, has been the result of anxiety over the country’s direction, he said.

‘Not a business venture’

Michael Sedita, the Warren County Democratic chairman, said he believes Shulman to be one of the few politicians who doesn’t view politics as a business venture.

“I think he’s running for all the right reasons. He wants to help people who need it the most,” Sedita said.

A job in government was never part of Shulman’s draft of ambitions, he said, but pubic service had always been.

The art of listening to the hardships of others that he acquired as a psychologist has been valuable on the campaign trail, Shulman said.

Even if his career path was uncertain at times, Shulman said, one thing was not — his devotion to religion.

Shulman said he knew at a fairly young age that he would one day be ordained as a rabbi.

“The synagogue was an anchor to me,” he said.

Shulman’s decision to run against Garrett had been spurred by the ethics he’s found in religious teachings.

David DeGerolamo, Phillipsburg council president, met Shulman after deciding against running himself.

Shulman caught his eye with his middle-of-the-road politics and beliefs.

“We have a very moderate outlook in Warren County, and Dennis speaks to that,” said DeGerolamo.

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