Bordentown Township elected a new mayor last month when Eric Holliday was chosen for the position.
Holliday, who ran successfully for a new three-year term on the Bordentown Township Committee last November, was sworn in as mayor by Steven Fulop at the Jan. 4 committee reorganization meeting.
Also sworn in to a three-year term on the committee was Kelly Lozito. Holliday and Lozito ran unopposed for seats on the five-member committee in November’s election. Sen. Troy Singleton, Assemblywoman Carol Murphy and Sheriff James Kostoplis administered the oaths of office for committee.
The committee then chose Holliday as mayor and Eugene Fuzy deputy mayor for 2025. Fuzy served as township mayor in 2024.
The presence of Fulop was noteworthy. The Jersey City mayor is running for the Democratic nomination in this year’s gubernatorial race, and has received Holliday’s endorsement. Holliday, in turn, has received Fulop’s endorsement as he announced his candidacy for a seat in the New Jersey Assembly, District 7.
“I am excited to serve as the mayor of Bordentown Township. I want to continue keeping Bordentown a thriving community,” Holliday wrote on Facebook. “I will work to improve our parks, improve our towns infrastructure, bring more businesses to Bordentown and smartly grow our commercial corridors all while protecting our beautiful open spaces. I have the most amazing committee serving with me to make greatness happen.”
Holliday retired from the state’s Department of Corrections after serving for 25 years on the job. Among the roles he served in with the DOC were as a chief hostage negotiator and an emergency management coordinator.
A township resident for 25 years, Holliday has served on the township committee since 2015, and twice served as deputy mayor. He is the first LGBTQ committee member and first LGBTQ mayor in Bordentown Township history.
Murphy, the majority whip for the Assembly, will be seeking re-election to a fifth term this year from District 7. The other Assembly seat in the district has been vacant since Herb Conaway resigned earlier this month to take his seat as New Jersey’s representative from the 3rd Congressional District.
The Democratic county committee was set to name a successor to Conaway on Jan. 25, which was after the Bordentown Current deadline. County commissioner Balvir Singh and Moorestown Mayor Nicole Gillespie were expected to vie to complete the term.
On his campaign website, Holliday says that he is running for Assembly “to address the unchecked growth and systemic inequities impacting New Jersey’s communities. Overdevelopment and corporate interests that prioritize profits over people.”
Kelly Lozito was running for public office for the first time in 2024, but she is not a newcomer to the township committee. Lozito was selected by the committee to fulfill the final year of former Mayor Steve Benowitz’ term after Benowitz stepped down in late 2023.
Primary elections will be held June 10.
Committee member Eric Holliday, center, is sworn in as mayor of Bordentown Township by Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop on Jan. 4, 2025. Holding the bible is Ellen Benowitz. (Facebook photo.),
