Editing Paulsboro, New Jersey (section)

==Government==
===Local government===
[[File:Paulsboro, NJ municipal building, Nov. 2024.jpg|thumb|right|Paulsboro Administration Building]]
Paulsboro is governed under the [[Borough (New Jersey)|borough]] form of New Jersey municipal government, which is used in 218 municipalities (of the 564) statewide, making it the most common form of government in New Jersey.<ref>[https://njdatabook.rutgers.edu/sites/njdatabook.rutgers.edu/files/documents/inventory_of_municipal_forms_of_government_in_new_jersey.pdf ''Inventory of Municipal Forms of Government in New Jersey''], [[Rutgers University]] Center for Government Studies, July 1, 2011. Accessed June 1, 2023.</ref> The governing body is comprised of a mayor and a borough council, with all positions elected [[at-large]] on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. A mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The borough council includes six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year in a three-year cycle.<ref name=DataBook>''2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book'', [[Rutgers University]] [[Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy]], March 2013, p. 19.</ref> The borough form of government used by Paulsboro is a "[[weak mayor]] / strong council" government in which council members act as the legislative body with the mayor presiding at meetings and voting only in the event of a tie. The mayor can [[veto]] ordinances subject to an [[veto override|override]] by a two-thirds majority vote of the council. The mayor makes committee and liaison assignments for council members, and most appointments are made by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council.<ref>Cerra, Michael F. [https://www.njlm.org/809/3982/Forms-of-Govt-Magazine-Article "Forms of Government: Everything You've Always Wanted to Know, But Were Afraid to Ask"], [[New Jersey State League of Municipalities]], March 2007. Accessed January 1, 2025.</ref><ref>[https://njdatabook.rutgers.edu/sites/njdatabook.rutgers.edu/files/documents/forms_of_municipal_government_in_new_jersey_9220.pdf#page=6 "Forms of Municipal Government in New Jersey"], p. 6. [[Rutgers University]] Center for Government Studies. Accessed June 1, 2023.</ref>

{{As of|2025}}, the [[mayor]] of the Borough of Paulsboro is [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] John Giovannitti, whose term of office ends December 31, 2027. Members of the Paulsboro Borough Council are Council President Tahje Thomas (D, 2026), Karen Armistead (D, 2027), Kyana Evans (D, 2025; appointed to serve an unexpired term), Theodore D. Holloway II (D, 2025; elected to serve an unexpired term), Eric Singleton (D, 2026) and Jennifer Turner (D, 2027).<ref name=GoverningBody>[https://paulsboronj.org/departments/governing-body/ Governing Body], Borough of Paulsboro. Accessed January 25, 2025.</ref><ref>[https://paulsboronj.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/0814_certifiedadoptbudget_2024-3.pdf#page=15 2024 Municipal Data Sheet], Borough of Paulsboro. Accessed January 25, 2025.</ref><ref name=GloucesterDirectory>[https://www.gloucestercountynj.gov/DocumentCenter/View/7330/2024-Directory?bidId= ''Gloucester County 2024 Official Directory''], [[Gloucester County, New Jersey]]. Accessed January 1, 2025.</ref><ref name=Gloucester2024>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Gloucester/122580/web.345435/#/summary General Election November 5, 2024 Unofficial Results], [[Gloucester County, New Jersey]], updated November 18, 2024. Accessed January 1, 2025.</ref><ref name=Gloucester2023>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Gloucester/118787/web.317647/#/summary General Election November 7, 2023 Unofficial Results], [[Gloucester County, New Jersey]], November 20, 2023. Accessed January 1, 2024.</ref><ref name=Gloucester2022>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Gloucester/115746/web.307039/#/summary General Election November 8, 2022 Summary Report Unofficial Results], [[Gloucester County, New Jersey]] Clerk, November 21, 2022. Accessed January 1, 2023.</ref>

In October 2024, Kyana Evans was appointed to fill the seat expiring in December 2025 that was vacated by Eric DiTonno.<ref>[https://paulsboronj.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Meeting_minutes_for_October25_2024_Special_Meeting.pdf Minutes For October 25, 2024 At 5:00 P.M. Special Meeting], Borough of Paulsboro. Accessed January 25, 2025. "Discussion regarding vacant Council seat with possible action. Council President Turner moved the name of Kyana Evans and Councilwoman Armistead second the nomination. Mayor Giovannitti asked if there were other nominations? Councilman Singleton nominated Larry Hayes, no second to the nomination. Motion denied. The first motion and second on the floor was continued with a roll call vote: Ayes: Council President Turner, Councilwoman Armistead, Councilman Holloway, Councilman Singleton, and Councilman Thomas."</ref>

Gary Stevenson was chosen in January 2012 to fill the vacant council seat of W. Jeffery Hamilton expiring in 2013, who left his seat after being sworn in as mayor.<ref>Bittner, Gina. [http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/index.ssf/2012/01/paulsboro_council_appoints_ste.html "Paulsboro council appoints Stevenson as new member"], ''[[Gloucester County Times]]'', January 24, 2012. Accessed October 31, 2013. "Assistant Fire Chief Gary C. Stevenson will fill the council's open seat here.At a special meeting Monday night, Stevenson was welcomed into the council with a 3–1 vote (Councilman Joe Kidd voted 'no' while Councilwoman Elsie Tedeski was absent from the meeting).... Stevenson, a 28-year Paulsboro Fire Department member fills the spot left open by W. Jeffery Hamilton's move to mayor."</ref> Alfonso Giampola was appointed in May 2012 to fill the vacant seat of Paul Morina for a term ending in 2014.<ref>Bittner, Gina. [http://www.nj.com/gloucester-county/index.ssf/2012/05/paulsboro_council_fills_vacant.html "Paulsboro council fills vacant seat"], ''[[Gloucester County Times]]'', May 22, 2012. Accessed October 30, 2013, "Alfonso Giampola has filled the open vacancy on borough council. On a 3-2 vote Monday, members appointed the longtime borough resident and deputy fire chief to fill the vacancy left by Paulsboro High School Principal Paul Morina."</ref>

In January 2016, the borough council selected Eric DiTonno to fill the seat expiring in December 2016 that was vacated by Gary C. Stevenson when he took office as mayor.<ref>[http://www.paulsboronj.org/media/70644/minutes_january26_2016_sp.pdf January 26, 2016 Paulsboro, N.J. Special Meeting] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816161039/http://www.paulsboronj.org/media/70644/minutes_january26_2016_sp.pdf |date=August 16, 2016 }}, Borough of Paulsboro. Accessed July 6, 2016. "Council President Giovannitti moved and Councilman Haynes seconded to receive, file the letter and appoint Eric DiTonno. Roll call: Ayes: Council President Giovannitti, Councilman Giampola, Councilman Haynes, Councilman Holloway. Nays: Councilman Kidd. Motion carried."</ref>

In 2018, the borough had an average property tax bill of $3,997, the lowest in the county, compared to an average bill of $6,851 in Gloucester County and $8,767 statewide.<ref>[https://www.state.nj.us/dca/divisions/dlgs/resources/property_docs/18_data/18taxes.xls 2018 Property Tax Information], [[New Jersey Department of Community Affairs]], updated January 16, 2019. Accessed November 7, 2019.</ref><ref>Marcus, Samantha. [https://www.nj.com/politics/2019/04/these-are-the-towns-with-the-lowest-property-taxes-in-each-of-njs-21-counties.html "These are the towns with the lowest property taxes in each of N.J.’s 21 counties"], NJ Advance Media for [[NJ.com]], April 30, 2019. Accessed November 7, 2019. "New Jersey’s average property tax bill may have hit $8,767 last year — a new record — but taxpayers in some parts of the state pay just a fraction of that.... The average property tax bill in Paulsboro Borough was $3,997 in 2018, the lowest in Gloucester County."</ref> The borough had the 21st-highest property tax rate in New Jersey, with an equalized rate of 4.427% in 2020, compared to 3.212% in the county as a whole and a statewide average of 2.279%.<ref>[https://www.nj.com/politics/2021/03/here-are-the-30-nj-towns-with-the-highest-property-tax-rates.html "Here are the 30 N.J. towns with the highest property tax rates"], NJ Advance Media for [[NJ.com]], March 15, 2021. Accessed January 19, 2022. "The average equalized tax rate in New Jersey was 2.279 in 2020, according to data from the Department of Community Affairs. Here is the list of 30 New Jersey towns with the highest property tax rates.... 21. Paulsboro Equalized tax rate in Paulsboro Borough, Gloucester County, was 4.427 in 2020 Average equalized tax rate in Gloucester County: 3.212"</ref>

===Federal, state, and county representation===
Paulsboro is located in the First Congressional District<ref name=PCR2012>[https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/assets/pdf/2012-congressional-districts/njcd-2011-plan-components-county-mcd.pdf Plan Components Report], [[New Jersey Redistricting Commission]], December 23, 2011. Accessed February 1, 2020.</ref> and is part of New Jersey's 3rd state legislative district.<ref name=Districts2011>[https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/assets/pdf/2011-legislative-districts/towns-districts.pdf Municipalities Sorted by 2011-2020 Legislative District], [[New Jersey Department of State]]. Accessed February 1, 2020.</ref><ref name=LWV2019>[https://uploads-ssl.webflow.com/5bae63366fd2b2e5b9f87e5e/5d30f0a94a82c66427e564d2_2019_CitizensGuide.pdf ''2019 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government''], New Jersey [[League of Women Voters]]. Accessed October 30, 2019.</ref><ref>[https://www.njleg.state.nj.us/districts/districtnumbers.asp#3 Districts by Number for 2011-2020], [[New Jersey Legislature]]. Accessed January 6, 2013.</ref>

{{NJ Congress 01}} {{NJ Senate}}

{{NJ Legislative 03}}

{{NJ Gloucester County Freeholders}}

===Politics===
{{PresHead|place=Paulsboro|source=<br>2024<ref>[https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/2024/2024-official-general-results-president-gloucester.pdf Presidential November 5, 2024 General Election Results Gloucester County], [[New Jersey Department of State]]. Accessed January 1, 2025.</ref> 2020<ref>[https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/2020/2020-official-general-results-president-gloucester.pdf Presidential November 3, 2020 General Election Results Gloucester County], [[New Jersey Department of State]], updated December 18, 2020. Accessed January 1, 2025.</ref> 2016<ref>[https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/2016/2016-gen-elect-presidential-results-gloucester.pdf Presidential November 8, 2016 General Election Results Gloucester County], [[New Jersey Department of State]], updated December 14, 2016. Accessed January 1, 2015.</ref> 2012<ref>[https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/2012/2012-presidential-gloucester.pdf Presidential November 6, 2012 General Election Results Gloucester County], [[New Jersey Department of State]], updated March 15, 2013. Accessed January 1, 2025.</ref> 2008<ref>[https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/2008/2008-gen-elect-presidential-results-gloucester.pdf Presidential General Election Results Gloucester County for 2008], [[New Jersey Department of State]], updated December 23, 2008. Accessed January 1, 2025.</ref> 2004<ref>[https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/2004/2004-presidential_gloucester_co_2004.pdf 2004 Presidential Election Gloucester County Official Results], [[New Jersey Department of State]], updated December 13, 2004. Accessed January 1, 2025.</ref>}}
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As of March 2011, there were a total of 3,635 registered voters in Paulsboro, of which 1,866 (51.3%) were registered as [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]], 251 (6.9%) were registered as [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] and 1,516 (41.7%) were registered as [[Unaffiliated (New Jersey)|Unaffiliated]]. There were 2 voters registered as either [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarians]] or [[Green Party (United States)|Greens]].<ref>[http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/election-results/2011-gloucester-co-summary-report.pdf Voter Registration Summary - Gloucester], [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, March 23, 2011. Accessed November 7, 2012.</ref>

In the [[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2012|2012 presidential election]], Democrat [[Barack Obama]] received 78.8% of the vote (1,945 cast), ahead of Republican [[Mitt Romney]] with 20.3% (501 votes), and other candidates with 0.9% (21 votes), among the 2,489 ballots cast by the borough's 3,817 registered voters (22 ballots were [[Spoilt vote|spoiled]]), for a turnout of 65.2%.<ref name=2012Elections>{{cite web |url=http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/2012-results/2012-presidential-gloucester.pdf |title=Presidential General Election Results - November 6, 2012 - Gloucester County |date=March 15, 2013 |publisher=New Jersey Department of Elections |access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref><ref name=2012VoterReg>{{cite web |url=http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/2012-results/2012-ballotscast-gloucester.pdf |title=Number of Registered Voters and Ballots Cast - November 6, 2012 - General Election Results - Gloucester County|date=March 15, 2013 |publisher=New Jersey Department of Elections |access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref> In the [[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2008|2008 presidential election]], Democrat Barack Obama received 76.0% of the vote (2,059 cast), ahead of Republican [[John McCain]] with 21.6% (586 votes) and other candidates with 1.2% (33 votes), among the 2,708 ballots cast by the borough's 3,958 registered voters, for a turnout of 68.4%.<ref>[http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/election-results/2008-gen-elect-presidential-results-gloucester.pdf 2008 Presidential General Election Results: Gloucester County], [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, December 23, 2008. Accessed November 7, 2012.</ref> In the [[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2004|2004 presidential election]], Democrat [[John Kerry]] received 71.6% of the vote (1,806 ballots cast), outpolling Republican [[George W. Bush]] with 27.4% (691 votes) and other candidates with 0.4% (16 votes), among the 2,524 ballots cast by the borough's 3,796 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 66.5.<ref>[http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/election-results/2004-presidential_gloucester_co_2004.pdf 2004 Presidential Election: Gloucester County], [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, December 13, 2004. Accessed November 7, 2012.</ref>

In the [[New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2013|2013 gubernatorial election]], Democrat [[Barbara Buono]] received 55.0% of the vote (741 cast), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 43.9% (592 votes), and other candidates with 1.0% (14 votes), among the 1,467 ballots cast by the borough's 3,630 registered voters (120 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 40.4%.<ref name=2013Elections>{{cite web |url=http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/2013-results/2013-general-election-results-governor-gloucester.pdf |title=Governor - Gloucester County |date=January 29, 2014 |publisher=New Jersey Department of Elections |access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref><ref name=2013VoterReg>{{cite web |url=http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/2013-results/2013-general-election-ballotscast-gloucester.pdf |title=Number of Registered Voters and Ballots Cast - November 5, 2013 - General Election Results - Gloucester County|date=January 29, 2014 |publisher=New Jersey Department of Elections |access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref> In the [[New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2009|2009 gubernatorial election]], Democrat [[Jon Corzine]] received 63.2% of the vote (1,031 ballots cast), ahead of Republican Chris Christie with 23.3% (381 votes), Independent [[Chris Daggett]] with 6.3% (102 votes) and other candidates with 0.7% (11 votes), among the 1,632 ballots cast by the borough's 3,814 registered voters, yielding a 42.8% turnout.<ref>[http://www.njelections.org/election-results/2009-governor_results-gloucester.pdf 2009 Governor: Gloucester County] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017230428/http://www.njelections.org/election-results/2009-governor_results-gloucester.pdf |date=2012-10-17 }}, [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, December 31, 2009. Accessed November 7, 2012.</ref>