Glen Rock Councilwoman Arati Kreibich announced Monday that she will challenge Rep. Josh Gottheimer for the Democratic nomination in the 5th Congressional District in 2020.

Kreibich, 44, a neuroscientist who in 2017 became the first South Asian person elected to Glen Rock’s Borough Council, will seek to capitalize on liberal activists’ disenchantment with Gottheimer. He joined Congress in 2017 and has branded himself as a problem-solving centrist.

She becomes the first Democrat to announce a Gottheimer challenge. Four Republicans have said they will compete for the GOP nomination to face Gottheimer in November 2020.

The councilwoman’s announcement video makes no mention of Gottheimer but features video of President Donald Trump as Kreibich says her son feared that Trump’s election meant she would be deported to India. Her family moved to the United States from India when she was 11.

"We need to have the moral courage and conviction to stand up for what is right and what is fair,” Kreibich says. “Incremental change isn’t cutting it.”

Experts on Trump's tweets:Attack on 'the Squad' part of long-term strategy

Trapped:15 inmates, correctional officers rescued from Passaic County jail elevator

For subscribers:As a teen, this former Delbarton student trusted a priest. Then came the alleged sex abuse

The 5th District includes a swath of North Jersey that includes parts of Bergen, Passaic, Sussex and Warren counties. It narrowly went for Trump in 2016.

Gottheimer was first elected its congressman in 2016 after unseating a seven-term conservative Republican.

Liberal activists have expressed frustration with Gottheimer, most recently in June, when he voted for a border funding bill loathed by progressive groups.

He is a fundraising powerhouse. His latest campaign finance reports show him sitting on $5.7 million.

Email: mcdonaldt@northjersey.com