Doug Tomson, who is completing his third year as mayor of Hillsborough, has officially been elected to the Hillsborough Township Committee for the fourth time.
The Republican candidate received a total of 13,241 votes to lead all four candidates running for the two seats on the committee, according to election results from Nov. 3 that were certified by Somerset County on Dec. 3.
A Hillsborough native, Tomson said he got into politics when he first ran in 2011 to make Hillsborough a great place for his children and future generations to live in.
He believes that his reelection by the community shows that he and his colleagues have done a good job in making Hillsborough a great community to be a part of.
“I’m honored to continue to give back to Hillsborough and serve the residents in our community,” Tomson said. “I want to give back to Hillsborough what it gave back to me growing up. Everyone that serves on the dais contributes to serving Hillsborough. We want to continue to make it a better place for the children of today and tomorrow.”
Joining Tomson on the Township Committee is a fellow Hillsborough Township Republican Party member Janine Erickson, who edged out Democratic candidates Donnetta Johnson and David Brook with 12,367 votes.
Johnson received 11,122 votes and Brook received 10,940 votes.
Erickson is excited for the opportunity to be on the committee and understands the “huge undertaking” she will take on as a member of the governing body.
“I’m very honored and humbled,” Erickson said of being elected to her first term on the committee. “I’m excited to learn more about Hillsborough and working together with the Township Committee and the residents. I want to cultivate a relationship with the community and be connected with the people.”
Both Tomson and Erickson will be sworn in at the committee’s reorganization meeting on Jan. 4. At the meeting, it will be announced which members of the committee will take on the roles of mayor and deputy mayor for 2021.
An agenda that both Tomson and Erickson feel should be addressed to start the year is continuing to find ways to help small businesses in the Hillsborough community survive from financial issues that have arisen because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Tomson feels the addition of Erickson will be very beneficial to helping to connect with small businesses and creating avenues to keep them open.
“Janine has an amazing background in what it means to run a small business and has connections with businesses in the community,” Tomson said.
Erickson helped her husband, Jeffrey, run their own physical therapy company. She is also a member of the Economic and Business Development Commission in town.
Tomson and Erickson were both part of Reopen Hillsborough, a task force that the mayor created to help the township recover from COVID-19.
A future project that Tomson believes could help small businesses and bring more businesses to Hillsborough is the completion of the bypass on Route 206 to help usher in a new downtown area to the community.
Erickson said she is a big supporter of the new downtown area as she hopes it will not only attract more businesses, but also make it a place for people in the community to shop and eat in regularly.
“It will foster a business community in Hillsborough that will be important towards its economic vitality going forward,” she said.
Tomson said the Township Committee was last told by the New Jersey Department of Transportation that the bypass is currently scheduled to be finished in April.
In addition, 2021 will mark the 250th anniversary of Hillsborough’s establishment. According to Tomson, the Township Committee is planning to hold a COVID-19 safe celebration in the downtown area next summer to honor the 250 years of Hillsborough.
Tomson is cautiously optimistic that things will be in place by then for the event to occur, but is hoping the community will have the opportunity in 2021 to honor its great town.
“Hopefully we will be able to celebrate Hillsborough as one of the best towns in America,” Tomson said.