Though the primary isn’t until June, the municipal Democratic and Republican committees already have selected their preferred candidates for November’s general election.
In late March, the Democrats selected Jill Moyer to run for mayor, and JoAnne Bruno and Amy Inman to run for four-year terms on council. At the same time, incumbent mayor Kelly Yaede announced her re-election bid, while the Republican committee chose incumbent Ileana Schirmer and newcomer Ralph Mastrangelo as their council candidates. Mastrangelo fills the spot on the Republican slate formerly held by councilman Kevin Meara, who announced in March he won’t seek another term. Each of the candidates is unchallenged in June’s primary.
The Democratic challenger for mayor is Jill Moyer, a 53-year-old lifelong Hamiltonian. Moyer currently works for the Hamilton Police in the field operations division, as well as serving as secretary-treasurer for CWA Local 1042. She previously worked for 16 years with Mercer County, eight years as a mayoral administrative assistant to Glen Gilmore and two years as chief of staff to state assemblyman Wayne DeAngelo.
She is married to Jeff Moyer, and the couple have a son, Ian, and two beagles, Zoie and Lily.
Moyer has worked with the Democrats for most her life, getting her start as a young girl stuffing envelopes for Barbara Boggs-Sigmund’s county freeholder campaign. She has served on the Mercer County Democratic Committee for 17 years, and currently serves as the vice chairperson for the Hamilton Democratic Committee.
“I decided to run for mayor because I have the drive, commitment and sensible ideals that Hamilton needs to make it a thriving economic community and provide an open and more transparent government which the residents of Hamilton deserve,” Moyer wrote in an email. “I have worked in the public sector for 31 years, and I believe I can make Hamilton even better.”
Kelly Yaede, a Republican, has held the mayor’s office since Nov. 30, 2012, when council selected her to fill the vacancy created by John Bencivengo’s resignation. She won the remainder of Bencivengo’s term in the November 2013 general election. This is her first run for a full four-year term as mayor. Yaede has previously served on township council and the Hamilton Board of Education.
Four candidates—including one incumbent—earned their parties’ blessings for township council.
Democrat JoAnne Bruno retired from a career in education in 2013, after stops at Princeton University, St. Anthony’s High School and South Hunterdon Regional High School. She worked at South Hunterdon for 35 years, teaching business classes and running a chapter of Future Business Leaders of America. She has been a competitive powerlifter and a weight training coach since the late 1970s. Bruno is a graduate of Hamilton High West and Rider University. She currently runs a small business for landscaping.
Bruno joined the Hamilton Democratic Club four years ago. She entered the council race at the suggestion of a friend.
Bruno has a White German Shepherd named Dino and an American Bulldog named Samantha, and she takes the pulse of the township on her walks with them.
“Talking to neighbors while I walk my dogs is one of my favorite things,” Bruno said. “I only wish sometimes that I could help them when they tell me what they need.”
Joining Bruno as a Democratic committee selection is Amy Inman, who joined the Hamilton Democratic Club a year ago to learn how she could better contribute to local government. She said she is running for council for several reasons, including to preserve Hamilton’s natural landscapes.
Inman is a graduate of McCorristin Catholic High School, and holds degrees in literature from St. John’s University and interior design from The Art Institute of Philadelphia.
She has been working in kitchen and bath design for 14 years, first at a local kitchen and bath firm and then with her own business, Amy Inman Interior Design. In 2013, she partnered with Lauren Baldwin to form Cabinets by Amy & Lauren.
Inman is married with two children, Giovanni and Lucia. Her husband, Peter Dabbene, is a contributing columnist for the Hamilton Post.
Ralph Mastrangelo, 55, will appear on the ballot as a Republican in his first go at politics. Mastrangelo retired more than a year ago from the Hamilton Police Department after 26 years on the force. He worked with the D.A.R.E. and G.R.E.A.T. educational programs, and served as Officer Friendly and on the board of the Hamilton Police Athletic League.
Mastrangelo is a lifelong Hamilton resident, growing up in the Bromley section of the township and graduating from St. Anthony’s High School, before moving to Yardville as an adult. He raised his three grown children in the township, and lives in Hamilton with his wife, Rose.
He said he became a supporter of the Republicans during the Jack Rafferty administration, and has made it his goal to keep the township true to Rafferty’s description of Hamilton as “safe, clean, beautiful.”
“I’ve been in the community so many years,” Mastrangelo said. “I’ve been out in the community. I know some of their concerns. A guy like me that’s been out there, I’m a good guy for this position.”
Republican Ileana Schirmer, 48, is the only incumbent running for council. She was appointed to council in January 2013, and won the two years on Yaede’s unexpired council term in November 2013.
Born in Cuba, Schirmer moved to the United States legally at 3, settling in Union City. She relocated to Hamilton 25 years ago. She lives in the township with her husband Phil and children, Nina and Kenny.
While in office, Schirmer has started a series meant to better incorporate Latinos in the community at large and educate them about the township, the government and other topics that may help them adjust to life in Hamilton.
“Those who know me know that I am very straight forward and I tell it like it is,” Schirmer said. “I am very accessible to all residents and encourage them to reach out not only to me, but any and all council members if they have any questions or issues they may need assistance with. As an elected official, it is our job to make sure that we work together with our residents to make the town we love the best town possible.”
The next step for each of the candidates will be winning the nomination of their respective party formally during the June 2 primary. They then advance to face each other in the general election Nov. 3.
