# Paul Duerr

Paul Brenan Duerr (born April 5, 2005) is an American author, historian, and politician from Hawthorne, New Jersey. He is the author of six historical fiction books, and one non-fiction political science book. A lifelong member of the Democratic Party, Duerr has been a political organizer/operative in Hawthorne, Passaic County, and the state of New Jersey.

## Early and personal life

A lifelong resident of Hawthorne, New Jersey, Duerr is a graduate of the Hawthorne Public Schools system. During his time in Hawthorne High School, Duerr wrote his first six books and received numerous accolades and praise by the local community as well as state-wide news outlets. He has also conducted several public presentations discussing various historical topics, along with hosting multiple book signings and attending several book festivals. His early work resulted in him capturing the attention of local school board member and Democratic state senate candidate Jennifer Ehrentraut, who offered him a position on her 2023 campaign in 40th Legislative District. His work on the LD-40 campaign resulted in several other campaign opportunities in Passaic County as well as for New Jersey Congressional and United States Senate campaigns, where Duerr completed two fellowships. Duerr is currently attending Rutgers University–New Brunswick where he is majoring in History and Political Science, with a minor in Archaeology.

## Early political career

During the 2023 campaign season, Duerr worked as the Outreach Director and Volunteer Coordinator on the Ehrentraut State Senate campaign. The ticket failed to unseat incumbent Kristin Corrado.
During the 2024 primary campaign season, Duerr campaigned for the Passaic County Democratic Organization, supporting the ticket of Bill Pascrell Jr. for Congress, Thomas Adamo for Sheriff, Lazarra, De Vore, and Bartlett for County Commissioner. The official Passaic County Democratic Organization ticket successfully fended off significant democratic challengers.
During the 2024 general campaign season, Duerr completed one Summer and one Fall fellowship for the campaign of Andy Kim for United States Senate. He also continued his work on the Passaic County Democratic ticket. Following the August 21 death of Congressman Bill Pascrell, State Senator Nellie Pou from New Jersey's 35th legislative district was nominated by special convention to fill the congressman's place. All candidates on the 2024 Passaic County Democratic Organization ticket were victorious.

## Awards and recognition

In May of 2022 during his junior year of high school, Duerr was awarded the 1st Place Student Recognition Award for the seven northern counties of New Jersey by the New Jersey Council for the Social Studies (NJCSS). Duerr is also a recipient of the John Philip Sousa Band Award for his work in the school marching band and concert bands, where he conducted an original composition at the schools Spring concert his senior year.
For his work, Duerr has been interviewed by the local podcast 'The Towncast', hosted by Flavio Romeo. He has also been interviewed by reporters from NorthJersey.com, News12 New Jersey, Wayne Magazine, The Clarion Newspaper (the student newspaper of Hawthorne High School), Shoutout Atlanta Magazine, and Bold Journey Magazine.