Incumbents mostly ruled Election Day 2020 in Hamilton Township, with only one new face winning election in municipal races.
The Democrats will retain their control of municipal government after councilman Charles F. “Chuddy” Whalen won the final year of the unexpired council term he has been serving in since January. Whalen defeated challengers Republican David Maher and Edward “Ed the Barber” Stackhouse. Whalen received 54% of the vote with Maher taking 39% and Stackhouse receiving 6%.
Whalen has served on council since January 2020, when he was appointed to a seat vacated by Mayor Jeff Martin. Last year, the Democrats took control of the mayor’s office and all five council seats for the first time since 2005.
Whalen is a past member of the township planning and zoning board. He graduated from Steinert High School in 1977, as well as from the Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 9 Apprenticeship Program. He is currently the assistant business manager at Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 9, chairman of the Local 9 health and welfare fund, treasurer of the Mercer/Burlington Building Trades Council, treasurer of the New Jersey State Pipe Trades Council, Treasurer of the Mechanical Allied Crafts Council of New Jersey and vice president of the Mercer County Central Labor Council.
Meanwhile, two incumbents and one newcomer won election to the Hamilton Board of Education. Liam Z. Gonzales and Susan Lombardo will return to the board, while Christina Vassiliou Harvey will fill the seat vacated when Al Gayzik chose not to run for re-election.
Gonzales has served since July—after being appointed to Cameron Cardinale’s vacated seat. Gonzales is a special education teacher and lacrosse coach in the Ewing school district. He earned bachelor’s degrees in history and secondary education from The College of New Jersey.
He said he wants to use his new term to ensure the district continually evolves with the times.
“Hamilton should not settle,” Gonzales said in a statement. “We need to continue to strive for excellence. Even if we have the perfect plans for schools today, if we fail to continually adjust, we will be severely lacking come this time next year. That may require multiple alterations along the way. Just because you make a modification does not mean the previous plan was ‘bad,’ it simply signifies that, as the world around us changes, we evolve with it.”
Vassiliou Harvey is a Girl Scout Troop leader, a member of the Langtree PTA, a member of the Daughters of Penelope, a member of the New Jersey State Bar Association and American Bar Association and a founding board member of Community Justice Center, a non-profit organization. She has a bachelor’s degree from Douglass College, Rutgers University, and a juris doctorate from Rutgers School of Law–Newark.
She said her immediate concern is improving education amid the pandemic, particularly the remote learning experience.
“I am thankful to the voters of Hamilton for electing me to the school board,” Vassiliou Harvey said. “I am looking forward to beginning my term to work on improving the remote learning experience for the children, their families, and the teachers. I would like to improve the communications with the families given the remote learning setup. I look forward to hearing from the community for their thoughts for the benefit of our children’s education.”
Lombardo, the current board president, has served since May 2014. She works as an administrative analyst for the State Department of Human Services’ Medicaid Division. Lombardo did not respond to a request for comment.
At the county level, incumbent Jack Kemler defeated Brian “Bucky” Boccanfuso, 70% to 30%, in the race for sheriff. All other Mercer County races were uncontested, with clerk Paula Sollami Covello and county freeholders John Cimino and Lucylle Walter winning re-election.
Rep. Chris Smith won a 21st term in the United States Congress, defeating Stephanie Schmid.
Christina Vassiliou Harvey,
