Holmdel’s “Directly Elect The Mayor” Trojan Horse

Last week, I proved that NO Monmouth County towns like Holmdel use this form of government. This week, I will analyze the rarely used election structure that the Charter Commission wants Holmdel to adopt, which combines 1) Directly electing our mayor AND 2) Conducting non-partisan elections. But first, a story…

THE TROJAN HORSE

Remember the tale of the Trojan horse? Legend has it that during the Trojan War, the Greeks built a giant wooden horse and hid their soldiers inside. The Greeks left the horse for the Trojans, who brought the horse into their city, unaware of what lie within. When night fell, the Greek soldiers snuck out of the horse, opened Troy’s city gates, and brought their awaiting Greek army into the city. With their Trojan Horse ruse, the Greeks destroyed the city of Troy and emerged victorious.

Well, my friends, Holmdel now has a Trojan Horse of its very own. Our Trojan Horse has arrived in the form of the Charter Study Commission and what they’re hiding from you is the toxic combination of 1) Directly electing your mayor AND 2) Non-partisan elections.

Their “study” neglected to inform you that this unusual combination of features is used by only 36 (6%) of New Jersey’s 565 municipalities! And if you consider only towns like Holmdel, just ONE of New Jersey’s 50 most affluent towns directly elects their mayor in a non-partisan election.

Yes, just ONE!

Why do so few New Jersey towns directly elect their mayor in non-partisan elections, as our Charter Study Commission recommends? Because it’s BAD IDEA! Let’s see which municipalities actually use this incredibly unpopular voting combination.

COMMUNITIES LIKE HOLMDEL AGREE – IT’S A BAD IDEA!

Holmdel residents are very proud of our community, which the Asbury Park Press ranks as #26 in their list of the top 50 wealthiest towns in New Jersey. And, with one exception, Holmdel and these other affluent towns have something in common: We do not directly elect our mayors in non-partisan elections!

To help you see how Holmdel compares with these communities, I put together a graph that plots mean income (X axis), median home value (Y axis), and population density (size of “bubbles”) for each of the top 50 “affluent” towns.

• Holmdel is shown in yellow.
• The one town that directly elects their mayor in non-partisan elections is shown in red.
• All other towns are shown in blue.

Take a look – it’s quite interesting.

Here are two key takeaways:

• Of New Jersey’s top 50 affluent towns, only ONE directly elects their mayor in non-partisan elections, as our Charter Study Commission recommends. Just one. Only West Windsor.
• NO other Monmouth County town on the “top 50” list directly elects their mayor in non-partisan elections. Not Colts Neck, not Fair Haven, not Interlaken, not Little Silver, not Marlboro, not Millstone Township, not Rumson. Zero. Not one.

Regarding that one outlier: West Windsor is perhaps the most progressive town in the top 50 list. About 39% of their voters are registered Democrats, compared to only 20.5% for Holmdel. West Windsor’s current Mayor was recently re-elected to a second four-year term and his predecessor served as mayor for an astonishing 16 years! West Windsor appears to be a perfect example of what we DON'T want - entrenched incumbents who are virtually impossible to dislodge.

Does that sound like “power to the people” to you?

WELCOME TO THE MACHINE!

Let’s look beyond the top 50 affluent towns and examine ALL New Jersey municipalities. As I mentioned earlier, only 36 (6%) of New Jersey’s 565 municipalities directly elect their mayor in non-partisan elections, as the Charter Study Commission recommends.

That’s right, only 36.

And, as we’ve seen before, these municipalities look nothing like Holmdel. Let’s consider just a few observations for the 36 municipalities that directly elect their mayor in non-partisan elections:

• Many of New Jersey’s largest and high-density cities appear in this group, including: Newark, Jersey City, Paterson, Trenton, Bayonne, Passaic, Vineland, Hoboken, Perth Amboy, Long Branch, Bridgeton and Asbury Park. Are any of these 12 municipalities remotely like Holmdel?
• Registered Democrats massively outnumber Republicans in these municipalities. Despite their “non-partisan” claims, many of these municipalities are single party, “political machines.” On average, these 36 municipalities have roughly twice as many registered Democrats as Holmdel (as a percent of registered voters). That's not a criticism, by the way. I respect people's choice of political party - it's simply another data point for comparison.
• Municipal spending, per capita, is an astounding 91% higher for these 36 municipalities.
• Voter turnout is 17% lower than Holmdel. Why? Because dysfunctional, non-partisan elections suppress voter turnout and disenfranchise voters.
• Median incomes are 41% lower than Holmdel, and median home values are 43% lower.

Again, these 36 municipalities have very different characteristics than Holmdel.

The Charter Study Commissioners keep telling us that “towns like Holmdel” are following their recommendations. But, like the mythical Trojan Horse, their message is designed to deceive you.

On the topic of voting structures, the data is crystal clear and the evidence is irrefutable – towns like Holmdel DO NOT directly elect their mayor in non-partisan elections!

VOTE NO AND EVERYTHING STAYS IN PLACE

Holmdel voters already control our own destiny. Like most townships, we elect Committee members annually and a ceremonial mayor is chosen from among them to serve a one-year term on our behalf. This is the essence of representative democracy! A poorly performing mayor can be removed quickly. We have zero risk of being stuck with a bad mayor for four or more years, as we could under the Charter Study Commissions’ proposal.

Further, our partisan municipal elections allow voters to be fully informed about their candidates. We want voters to know everything they can about their potential representatives. Why would we want to hide their party affiliation?

Non-partisan elections universally suppress voter turnout and lead to entrenched incumbents. That’s why, like Holmdel, the overwhelming majority (85%) of New Jersey municipalities conduct partisan elections.

What we are doing now is clearly working! Holmdel is already one of New Jersey’s few AAA-rated municipalities and is ranked as one of the most affluent communities in the state. Why on earth would we roll the dice on a risky election structure used by only 1 of 50 affluent towns, and by only 36 of New Jersey’s 565 municipalities? It just doesn’t make sense.

Unlike the Trojans, we have the power to stop and defeat our Trojan Horse.

Simply vote NO on July 26th, and you can stop it in its tracks.