McCauley Not Running For Re-election To Township Committee In 2020, Erickson To Run With Tomson
With the Presidential election being at the top of the ballot on Election Day 2020, the Hillsborough Republican Club is getting themselves ready for the high voter turnout. At their meeting on Tuesday, January 21, the group got to hear from their candidates for the Hillsborough Township Committee and Somerset County Freeholder Board (as well as nominate the Township Committee candidates), which is usually done at their March meeting. They hope that starting early this year will help better get their message out to the voters, especially since overall, Democrats have been improving and more successful in various elections for the last few years in the area.
After there was some talk of her considering leaving the Township Committee at the end of her term, which ends this year, Committeewoman McCauley made the news official that evening at the meeting, held at The Landing restaurant.
McCauley is currently in her twelfth year on the Township Committee, and started in 2009 after winning her first election in November 2008. She has twice been the mayor (in 2011 and 2018), and thrice been the deputy mayor (2010, 2012, and 2017). She is the second-longest serving member of the committee behind Frank DelCore (who has served one year longer than her), who just started his fifth three-year term and thirteenth year on the committee.
McCauley made the decision not to run for a fifth three-year term in order to “pursue other interests”. When interviewing her after the meeting, she stated that she would not rule out the possibility of running for another elected office in the future.
So, in comes Janine Erickson, a parent, volunteer, and businesswoman who has lived in town for over 25 years, who will run for McCauley’s seat in the November 3, 2020 election. She currently works for the Somerset County Park Commision and has been a member of the Economic Business Development Commission, the Board of Adjustment, and the Hillsborough Republican Club.
Erickson provided a copy of her remarks from the meeting where she introduced herself.
Erickson and current mayor Doug Tomson will be the Republicans running for the Township Committee in 2020. It is unclear who their Democratic challengers will be, but after asking around at the meeting, one person believed that Jeffrey Wright, who has run the past two years unsuccessfully for the Township Committee (in 2019 by himself with only one seat open, and in 2018 with Olivia Holmes, who won and is on the committee) could be running for County Freeholder instead in 2020. If that is the case, the Democrats would have two new candidates in 2020, unless someone that ran from 2017 and earlier is chosen again. Later in the week, the Hillsborough Democrats put out a notice saying that they were looking for candidates.
Outgoing Committeewoman Gloria McCauley (left) with who she hopes will be her successor, Janine Erickson (right).
Speaking of Freeholders, the two that are up for re-election this coming year, Republicans Brian Gallagher and Brian Levine, also attended the meeting and spoke. They remain the “last Republicans standing” on the Freeholder Board after Democrats were able to flip three seats in the last two years, with incumbent Republicans Mark Caliguire, Patrick Scaglione, and Pat Walsh all being ousted by Democrats Shanel Robinson, Sara Sooy, and Melonie Marano. The GOP previously held all five Freeholder seats for decades until their loss of two seats in the 2018 election.
It would be a double whammy for the Republicans if they lost in Hillsborough and Somerset County, as Democrats would have a 3-2 majority on the Township Committee if they are able to flip both seats, and a “clean sweep” of all 5 seats on the Freeholder Board if the two candidates they run can defeat Gallagher and Levine. They have already gained a majority on the County level after Melonie Marano’s narrow victory over incumbent Republican Pat Walsh this past year.
Only time will tell to see if Republicans finally have found a winning strategy by beginning to campaign earlier, or if Democrats will continue their blue wave in the town and county and continue to win seats, something that was considered very unlikely and unprecedented not long ago.
Somerset County Freeholders Brian Gallagher (left) and Brian Levine (right).