New Mayor, Deputy Mayor Chosen To Serve Hillsborough Residents For 2025

HILLSBOROUGH, NJ — A new Mayor and Deputy Mayor were appointed to keep Hillsborough Township moving forward for 2025.

At the Thursday night Reorganization meeting, John Ciccarelli was selected as Mayor for 2025. Catherine Payne was named as Deputy Mayor.

"I think John Ciccarelli would be an absolutely fantastic mayor. He has significant experience in engineering, great leadership qualities," said Committeeman Robert Britting, Jr., who nominated Ciccarelli. "He has done significant work over the past three years and it's been an absolute pleasure working with him and I think he would be a leader in '25."

The committee approved Ciccarelli's appointment with only Committeewoman Samantha Hand voting no.

"It's my pleasure to nominate, not only a very qualified individual, but a great person who cares about Hillsborough greatly and I’ve become a friend of hers," said Committeeman Shawn Lipani. "I am honored to nominate Committeewoman Payne for Deputy Mayor."

The Committee unanimously approved Payne's appointment.

Republicans Britting, Jr. and Lipani were also sworn in to serve on the Township Committee following their re-election.

Britting Jr. and Lipani were victorious over Democrats Hermes Vallejo and James Vander Vliet in the November election.

Ciccarelli gave his State of the Town Address while thanking his family and supporters.

"I am truly honored and humbled to be up here on the dais this year, to be selected by the Township Committee as your Mayor," said Ciccarelli. "Last year you put your faith in me as Deputy Mayor and as a team led by now committeeman Birtting, we were able to accomplish great things. We advocated for Hillsborough to get 206 moving and back on track, increased transparency through the new 'Ask the Mayor' initiative, focused on infrastructure, purchased more open space, and funded the police department to keep Hillsborough safe."

"I am committed to continuing and expanding these efforts while implementing additional improvements to bring benefits and services to the residents of Hillsborough," Ciccarelli said.

"In 2025 I will continue leading with the baseline principles that we outlined and executed on over the last couple of years. That is fiscal responsibility, infrastructure, and open space with a focus on developing the overall vision of the future of Hillsborough," said Ciccarelli. "These three are the primary keystone vision points which each in their own way will protect the town and pave the way for Hillsborough's future."

The next Township Committee meeting will be held on Tuesday, Jan. 14 in the Municipal Building at 379 South Branch Road.

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