Editing Hillside, New Jersey (section)

===Local government===
[[File:Hillside, NJ municipal building, March 2024.jpg|thumb|right|Hillside Municipal Building]]
Hillside is governed by the [[Faulkner Act]] (formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law), under the [[Faulkner Act (mayor–council)|Mayor-Council]] form of New Jersey municipal government (plan 4), as implemented as of July 1, 1997.<ref>[http://www.dudley-2010.com/Faulkner%20Act%2046pages.pdf "The Faulkner Act: New Jersey's Optional Municipal Charter Law"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012040522/http://www.dudley-2010.com/Faulkner%20Act%2046pages.pdf |date=2013-10-12 }}, [[New Jersey State League of Municipalities]], July 2007. Accessed October 12, 2013.</ref> The township is one of 71 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form of government.<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 the mayor and the seven-member Township Council, all elected to four-year terms of office on a [[non-partisan democracy|non-partisan]] basis as part of the November general election in odd-numbered years. Four council members come from [[ward (United States)|wards]], and three are elected [[at-large]]. The four ward seats all come up for election together and the mayoral and at-large seats come up for vote together two years later.<ref name=DataBook>''2012 New Jersey Legislative District Data Book'', [[Rutgers University]] [[Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy]], March 2013, p. 131.</ref><ref>[https://njdatabook.rutgers.edu/sites/njdatabook.rutgers.edu/files/documents/forms_of_municipal_government_in_new_jersey_9220.pdf#page=10 "Forms of Municipal Government in New Jersey"], p. 10. [[Rutgers University]] Center for Government Studies. Accessed June 1, 2023.</ref> In August 2010, the council voted to shift municipal elections from May to November, to be held in conjunction with the general election.<ref>de Vries, Karl. [http://www.nj.com/news/local/index.ssf/2010/09/hillside_mayor_starts_campaign.html "Hillside mayor starts campaign to force referendum on local elections"], ''[[The Star-Ledger]]'', September 15, 2010. Accessed May 14, 2013. "After Hillside's council voted last month to move the township's local election from May to November, Mayor Joseph Menza is determined to put the measure to a public vote.... The council's decision to eliminate the spring election, which was first established as part of a 1996 referendum that also created the township's current form of government, shows a lack of respect for Hillside's residents, Menza said."</ref>

{{As of|2025}}, the [[Mayor]] of Hillside is Dahlia O. Vertreese, whose term of office ends December 31, 2025.<ref name=Mayor>[https://www.hillsidenj.us/mayor Mayor Dahlia O. Vertreese], Township of Hillside. Accessed February 21, 2024.</ref> Members of the Township Council are Council President Craig Epps (At-large, 2025), Lisa Bonanno (At-large, 2025), David Feuerstein (Ward 4, 2027), Andrea Hyatt (Ward 1, 2027), Daryl Joyner (Ward 3, 2027), Robert Rios (At-large, 2025), and Salonia Saxton (Ward 2, 2027).<ref name=Council>[https://hillsidenj.us/council Council], Township of Hillside. Accessed February 21, 2024.</ref><ref>[https://www.hillsidenj.us/css/hillsidenj/attachments/22980/5ebb1dc4ea67f_2019_Budget.pdf 2019 Municipal Data Sheet], Township of Hillside. Accessed May 2, 2022.</ref><ref name=UnionOfficials>[http://www.unioncountyvotes.com/elected-officials/ ''Union County Elected Officials''], [[Union County, New Jersey]] Clerk. Accessed February 21, 2024.</ref><ref name=Union2023>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Union/119032/web.317647/#/summary General Election November 7, 2023 Official Results], [[Union County, New Jersey]], updated November 22, 2023. Accessed February 19, 2024.</ref><ref name=Union2021>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Union/111504/web.278093/#/summary General Election November 2, 2021 Official Results], [[Union County, New Jersey]], updated November 15, 2021. Accessed January 1, 2022.</ref>

In the 2017 general election, none of the candidates for mayor or at-large council seats crossed the 50% threshold, leading to a December run-off between Dahlia Vertreese and Jorge A. Batista, the two top candidates for mayor, and the top six for council, consisting of the three-person slates affiliated with the two mayoral candidates. The runoff was won by Vertreese and her slate.<ref>Iati, Marisa. [https://www.nj.com/union/2017/11/hillside_mayoral_results_general_election_2017.html "Hotly contested Hillside mayoral race leads to runoff"], NJ Advance Media for [[NJ.com]], November 8, 2017, updated January 16, 2019. Accessed April 24, 2020. "The wide-open race between the mayoral candidates will give way to the runoff between top vote getters Dahlia Vertreese, the president of Hillside's school board, and Jorge A. Batista, a former councilman.... Batista's running mates for council -- Joshua Greenblatt, Joseph Brown Sr., and Nagy Sileem -- and Vertreese's running mates for council -- George Cook III, Nancy Mondella and Craig Epps -- will participate in the runoff election for the three open seats."</ref><ref>Harris, Taylor Tiamayo. [https://www.nj.com/union/2017/12/hillside_school_board_president_wins_mayor_runoff.html "Hillside school board president wins mayoral runoff election"], NJ Advance Media for [[NJ.com]], December 6, 2017, updated January 16, 2019. Accessed April 24, 2020. "Hillside school board president Dahlia Vertreese will become the next mayor of Hillside after beating her opponent, former councilman Jorge A. Batista.... All three of Vertreese's running mates for city council also won the three open at-large seats. They are George Cook III (1,768 votes), Nancy Mondella (1,715 votes) and Craig Epps (1,702 votes), according to the unofficial tally from Hillside's clerk."</ref>