Andrew Martins, Managing Editor
When it comes to two members of the Hillsborough Township Committee, the next three years will look a lot like the previous three years, as Republican incumbents Gloria McCauley and Douglas Tomson held on to their seats on the governing body in last night’s election.
According to unofficial results provided by Township Clerk Pamela Borek, McCauley and Tomson garnered 6,150 and 6,232 votes respectively. By contrast, their Democrat counterparts Jane Staats and Harrison “Harry” Burke received earned 5,601 votes and 5,392 votes, respectively.
“Gloria and I are humbled to be re-elected in the town we love,” Tomson said. “The voters once again choose a team that has fought hard to hold the line on taxes, fight against onerous state mandated affordable housing requirements and worked to keep over a third of Hillsborough out of the hands of developers.”
The results provided by the clerk are not official until they are certified by the Somerset County Clerk.
The Republicans’ win at the polls came in spite of a pair of ethics complaints against McCauley, Business Administrator Anthony Ferrera and Committeeman Gregory Burchette that were filed with the Hillsborough Ethics Standards Board on October 17.
While the complaint against Burchette dealt with an alleged conflict of interest in the wake of the Robert Wood Johnson EMS decision, McCauley came under suspicion for selling Ferrera’s home. The complaint alleges that the administrator received a more than five percent raise from the township prior to McCauley receiving a commission for the sale. McCauley works as an area realtor during the day.
In response to the allegations, Township Attorney William Willard said the complaints were “nothing more than an unsubstantiated partisan attack launched just prior to the upcoming election.”
Regardless, voters opted to keep the governing body completely Republican.
“We look forward to keeping Hillsborough moving in the right direction for years to come,” Tomson said.
The unofficial tallies also show that voters in Hillsborough largely voted along party lines, with Republican Gubernatorial candidate Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno earning 6,109 votes while New Jersey’s Governor-elect, Democrat Phil Murphy earned 5,714 of the township’s votes.
In the 16th Legislative District race for State Senate, Democrat and Hillsborough native Laurie Poppe, who had 5,325 votes, lost to incumbent Republican Senator Christopher “Kip” Bateman, who had 6,494 votes. In the general election, Bateman ultimately retained his seat.
Republicans Donna Simon and Mark Caliguire, 6,046 and 5,954 votes, earned more support in Hillsborough than Democrat incumbent Andrew Zwicker and Roy Freiman, 5,732 and 5,543 votes, in the race for the 16th Legislative District seats in the state Assembly. Both Zwicker and Freiman won in the overall election.
