Hello!  While there are still some votes to be counted, the Hodges and Tompkins campaign is well on its way to a resounding victory.

Currently, Brett Hodges is ahead by 209 votes and John Tompkins is ahead by 384. 

For the first time in history, we will have a Democratic majority on our Township Committee.

Suffice to say a few tears were shed on Election night. For me personally, this local win was significant. It’s where I have lived for 13 years. At times I questioned whether I wanted to stay in this community, having lived previously in a much more progressive town. Being introduced to this group helped me remember there were like-minded women here (thank you Jennifer Sperling Kluger). I got involved with the BTDC in 2019 and this is my third time running a campaign. The first was Jessica Simpson-Cook who came within 100+ votes of beating Janice Fields. The second campaign was for Ana Duarte McCarthy and Lily Wong. Ana received the highest number of votes and Lily came within 7 votes.

Campaigns are not won by one. And there are a few who went above and beyond to deliver this anticipated win. First, I want to thank my “ride or dies”, Kristin Blomquist and Jennifer Aaron. It was many hours of plotting, strategizing, looking at data, reaching out and rallying support. With our treasurer Sima Guven I always knew we were in excellent financial hands. As for our candidates, they raised their hands for all the right reasons. They are good men who have contributed to their community with significant impact and stepped into the ring at a particularly contentious time in local politics.

As most of you know, winning an election here as a Democrat has historically been a rare occurrence. We were blessed to have sage advisors in Ana Duarte McCarthy and Joan M. Bannan, the first two Democratic women who ran and WON in Bernards Township. They helped our team hone our message, and their endorsement video went viral here with over 123,000 views on Instagram, and 50,000 on Facebook. BTDC Chair Jane Conklin was always available to hear me grouse, and worked her magic rallying volunteers and knocking on doors.

Nancy D’Andrea was not only a generous donor, she was a canvassing machine, knocking on hundreds of doors (over 1200?). Claudia Hodges and Sharon Tompkins donated their husbands and supported us at every turn. Lily Wong hosted a fundraiser as did Bill and Carolyn Knox. Karen Haase-Gray and her husband Jack erected those big banners throughout the town, and if Mother Nature beat them down, Jack provided reinforcements. 

Rani Maloney was our sign queen and worked the polls on Election Day. Dorothea Schlosser provided a beautiful location for us to host Mikie Sherrill in May and film candidate interviews and let us camp out at her house for four days to launch the final community canvasses, which included a visit from Lt Gov elect Dr Dale Caldwell. Mary Jane Walsh helped me put up signs in all the public spaces and made it FUN. Betsy Bacot photographed our launch and has always provided generous support. Kristy Omelianuk stepped up for whatever we needed and worked the polls on Election Day. Kathi Paton joined us at many community canvasses. Our BTDC Scholarship recipient Meera Shah single-handedly mailed out several hundred vote by mail applications to high school seniors and Ridge alumni and did an excellent video on why local elections matter.

Many more of you quietly donated, followed us on social media, canvassed, made phone calls, put out a lawn sign, or attended fundraisers. Every effort matters. We set a record for the most funds raised on our local campaigns, which helped us reach every person in town through social media, YouTube, and mailers.

My hope is it provides a sigh of relief that we HAVE MADE and will continue to MAKE A DIFFERENCE right here at home. Let this momentum remind us that together we are a FORCE. And when we take the majority in January and hear the words MAYOR DUARTE MCCARTHY, let’s rally behind Ana, Brett and John to ensure their success! Stay tuned…

– Sara Nichols, Campaign Manager