‘Line in the sand’

There are still contested, consequential municipal government elections in Central Jersey, they just don’t occur in Middlesex Borough any more.

Remember matters like redevelopment and Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTs)? Political candidates still battle it out over those and other issues, but they’re doing it in nearby places like Warren Township and Bound Brook.

In Middlesex, by contrast, a virtually non-existent Democratic Party left no 2023 voting booth choice. Republicans went unchallenged for mayor and two Borough Council seats. The GOP made that lack of choice worse by opening its council ticket to a past colleague of the indicted former Democratic mayor.

Some voters showed their displeasure, perhaps with a bit of sarcasm. Sixty-seven wrote-in names for mayor and there were 90 write-ins cast for council candidates. The Middlesex County Clerk’s Office is expected to release the names of the write-in recipients later this month.

Meanwhile, residents of Warren and Bound Brook wait to see what their new governments will say and do in 2024. Their officials’ decisions – particularly related to development – could hold consequences for Middlesex. Traffic generated by one town’s homes and businesses does not stay completely within the municipal borders.

In Warren, there was a contested Republican June primary with four candidates running for two, three-year Township Committee seats. A pair of first-time candidates – Shaun Fine and Vanessa Kian – defeated two sitting committeemen. One of the beaten GOP candidates was a four-term incumbent.

The big issue was concern about a major piece of property near Interstate 78 that formerly housed the Chubb Insurance Co. headquarters. Warren officials had quietly held discussions with a redeveloper about rezoning the tract for a more than 700,000-square-foot distribution center.

Under intense public pressure, the Township Committee reversed course and rejected the zoning at a contentious April 2022 meeting. But constituent trust was broken and the matter is now in court, as the property owner sued Warren.

Residents who live nearby – some in homes worth roughly $1 million – rallied against the sitting committeemen. The margins rolled up by Fine and Kian in those neighborhoods more than offset tallies in other sections of Warren. Another a factor was that roughly 50 Democrats jumped party affiliation to vote in the primary.

Fine and Kian went on to defeat Democratic opponents in the general election earlier this month. Imagine that Middlesex – two candidates who had to earn their way to office by winning a contested primary and general election.

Just to show that you cannot predict an election’s consequences, Warren’s mayor resigned on Thursday, Nov. 16. citing family and health-related reasons. So, Fine and Kian will join a governing body in January that has just lost an eight-term incumbent.

In Bound Brook’s recent election, redevelopment was front and center. High-rises continue to grow skyward on virtually every downtown block as the town takes on the appearance of Gotham City from the Batman Dark Knight movies.

Taking the fall on Nov. 7 were Republican Mayor David Morris and Democratic Borough Councilman Abel Gomez. Councilman Dominic Longo, a Republican councilman who jumped parties to run for mayor as a Democrat, defeated Morris.

Along with Longo, Bound Brook voters backed two Republican candidates for council seats in a close election. One seat was decided by only a two-vote margin and the results could change pending several uncounted mail-in ballots. Currently, Democrats hold a 4-2 edge on the council.

Morris was appointed mayor in September 2022 to replace Republican Bob Fazen, who resigned. Fazen retired to South Carolina, apparently preferring a place without numerous high-rise apartment buildings.

Gomez’s occupation as a realtor probably did not help his re-election chances.

“Their language is peppered with alarming terms like ‘gifts,’ ‘chaos,’ and ‘overdevelopment’ — buzzwords that mask their misunderstanding of how to manage our municipal affairs,” Gomez wrote on Facebook of his Republican opponents, shortly before the election.

Somerset County Republican Chairman Tim Howes took to radio station New Jersey 101.5 shortly before the election to paint a gloomy picture of Bound Brook under Democratic rule.

“They’re building higher than ever before – in the flood basin,” Howes said, adding, “We need to draw the line in the sand.”

While Bound Brook, Warren and other towns have honest debate about their futures, Middlesex voters should ponder the potential consequences of continuing to have more uncontested elections in the future.

BallotReady, a voter education website, noted that 67% of 2022 United States elections were uncontested. Most of them were for local offices.

“Armed with the knowledge that they will not face an opponent in their upcoming election, incumbents remain in office unchallenged and unaccountable to voters,” BallotReady says of uncontested elections.

“Uncontested elections is a significant flaw in our democracy and leads to a wide array of implications for candidates, elected officials and voters alike. The overall outcome is that the gap between local government and its constituents grows and participation in our democracy decreases.”