Editing Hightstown, New Jersey (section)

==Government==
[[File:Hightstown Civil War Memorial.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Hightstown Civil War Memorial]]

===Local government===
Hightstown 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 the mayor and the borough council, with all positions elected [[at-large]] on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. The mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The borough council includes six members, who are 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. 63.</ref> The borough form of government used by Hightstown 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. [http://www.njslom.org/magart0307_p14.html "Forms of Government: Everything You've Always Wanted to Know, But Were Afraid to Ask"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140924045019/http://www.njslom.org/magart0307_p14.html |date=September 24, 2014 }}, [[New Jersey State League of Municipalities]]. Accessed November 30, 2014.</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><ref>[https://www.hightstownborough.com/government/ Government], Borough of Hightstown. Accessed June 1, 2022. "The Borough of Hightstown was incorporated on March 5, 1853, and operates under the Borough form of government, the largest single form of municipal government in use in New Jersey. Under this form, the Mayor, elected directly by the voters, is the head of Borough government and recommends to council such measures as he deems necessary for the welfare of the Borough. The governing body consists of six elected Councilmembers, each serving a three-year term, and one elected Mayor who serves a four-year term."</ref>

{{As of|2023}}, the [[mayor]] of the Borough of Hightstown is [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrat]] Susan Bluth, whose term of office ends on December 31, 2026. Borough Council members are Council President Joshua Jackson (D, 2025), Joseph Cicalese (D, 2023), Cristina Fowler (D, 2023), Todd Frantz (D, 2025), Jeet Gulati (D, 2024; appointed to serve an unexpired term) and Fred Montferrat (D, 2024).<ref name=MayorCouncil>[https://www.hightstownborough.com/town-council/ Mayor and Council], Hightstown Borough. Accessed February 24, 2023.</ref><ref>[https://www.hightstownborough.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/1104_certifiedintrobudget_2022.pdf#page=14 2022 Municipal Data Sheet], Borough of Hightstown. Accessed February 24, 2023.</ref><ref name=MercerOfficials>[https://www.mercercounty.org/home/showpublisheddocument/22827/637794896457670000 Mercer County Elected Officials], [[Mercer County, New Jersey]], as of January 2022. Accessed February 24, 2023.</ref><ref name=Mercer2022>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Mercer/116247/web.303253/#/summary General Election November 8, 2022 Results], [[Mercer County, New Jersey]] Clerk, updated November 8, 2022. Accessed January 1, 2023.</ref><ref name=Mercer2021>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Mercer/111513/web.278093/#/summary General Election November 2, 2021 Official Results], [[Mercer County, New Jersey]], updated November 20, 2021. Accessed January 1, 2022.</ref><ref name=Mercer2020>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Mercer/107134/web.264614/#/summary General Election November 3, 2020 Official Results], [[Mercer County, New Jersey]], updated November 20, 2020. Accessed January 1, 2021.</ref>

The borough council appointed Jeet Gulati in February 2023 to fill the council seat expiring in December 2024 that had been held by Susan Bluth until she resigned the previous month to take office as mayor; Gulati will serve on an interim basis until the November 2023 general election, when voters will choose a candidate to fill the balance of the term of office.<ref>[https://www.hightstownborough.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/02.06.2023_Packet.pdf Borough Council Meeting Minutes for February 6, 2023], Borough of Hightstown. Accessed February 24, 2023. "WHEREAS, there exists a vacancy in the office of Councilmember due to the resignation of Susan Bluth effective January 3, 2023; and... NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Hightstown that Jeet Gulati is hereby appointed to serve in the position of Councilmember to fill the vacancy until the General Election on November 7, 2023, when a successor will be elected by the voters to fulfill the vacant unexpired term of Councilmember Susan Bluth ending December 31, 2024."</ref>

In January 2019, the borough council selected Patricia Egan from a list of three candidates nominated by the Republican municipal committee to fill the seat expiring in December 2020 that became vacant the previous month following the resignation of Connor Montferrat. At that same meeting, the council chose Joshua Jackson from a list of three Democrats to fill the seat scheduled to expire in December 2019 that had been held by Denise "Denny" Hansen until she resigned from office in December 2018.<ref>[http://www.hightstownborough.com/minutes_council/2019/01-22-2019.pdf Meeting Minutes for January 22, 2019], Hightstown Borough. Accessed November 27, 2019. "Patricia Egan is hereby appointed to serve in the position of Councilmember to fill the vacancy until the General Election on November 5, 2019 when a successor will be elected by the voters to fulfill the vacant unexpired term of Councilmember Connor Montferrat ending December 31, 2020.... Whereas, there exists a vacancy in the office of Councilmember due to the resignation of Denise (Denny) Hansen effective December 31, 2018... Joshua Jackson is hereby appointed to serve in the position of Councilmember to fill the vacancy of the unexpired term ending December 31, 2019."</ref> In the November 2019 general election, Democrat Joseph Cicalese was elected to serve the balance of the term of office through December 2020.<ref name=Mercer2019>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Mercer/98876/Web02.236009/#/ General Election November 2019 Official Results (Amended November 25, 2019)], [[Mercer County, New Jersey]], updated December 9, 2019. Accessed January 1, 2020.</ref>

In January 2015, the council selected former council president Susan Bluth to fill the vacant council seat expiring in December 2015 of Larry Quattrone, who left office when he was sworn in as mayor.<ref>Mulvaney, Nicole. [http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2015/01/former_hightstown_council_president_who_lost_2014_election_appointed_councilwoman_by_reorganized_bod.html "Former Hightstown council president who lost election is appointed councilwoman"], ''[[The Times (Trenton)|The Times]]'', January 7, 2015. Accessed February 20, 2015. "Former Hightstown council president Susan Bluth was appointed to the governing body Monday to fill the unexpired term of Mayor Larry Quattrone, who was sworn in Jan. 1. Quattrone, a Democrat, beat out former Councilman Rob Thibault, who filed to run as an independent, and Republican newcomer Douglas Mair in the November election. Quattrone's term was set to expire Dec. 31, 2015."</ref>

Seth Kurs was appointed in April 2014 from among three prospective candidates to fill the vacant seat expiring in 2015 of Gail Doran, who had resigned earlier in the month, citing personal reasons. The term of the appointment ran through November 14, 2014, after which Seth Kurs was elected in the general election to complete the remaining unexpired term through December 31, 2015.<ref>Clerkin, Bridget. [http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2014/04/hightstown_fills_vacant_borough_council_seat_with_local_lawyer.html "Hightstown fills vacant borough council seat with local lawyer"], ''[[The Times (Trenton)|The Times]]'', April 29, 2014. Accessed September 4, 2014. "Local attorney Seth Kurs will fill the vacancy created by an unexpected resignation from the Hightstown Borough Council. Kurs was sworn in by the council Monday night to occupy the seat left open by Gail Doran, who submitted her letter of resignation on April 7."</ref>

===Federal, state, and county representation===
Hightstown is located in the 3rd Congressional District<ref name=PCR2022>[https://www.njredistrictingcommission.org/documents/2021/Data2021/Plan%20Components.pdf 2022 Redistricting Plan], [[New Jersey Redistricting Commission]], December 8, 2022.</ref> and is part of New Jersey's 14th 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#14 Districts by Number for 2011-2020], [[New Jersey Legislature]]. Accessed January 6, 2013.</ref>

Prior to the [[New Jersey Legislative Districts, 2011 apportionment|2011 reapportionment]] following the [[2010 United States census|2010 census]], Hightstown had been in the [[New Jersey's 12th legislative district|12th state legislative district]].<ref name=LWV2011>[http://www.lwvnj.org/images/cg_2011.pdf#page=59 ''2011 New Jersey Citizen's Guide to Government''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130604153059/http://www.lwvnj.org/images/cg_2011.pdf#page=59 |date=June 4, 2013 }}, p. 59, New Jersey [[League of Women Voters]]. Accessed May 22, 2015.</ref> Prior to the 2010 Census, Hightstown had been part of the {{ushr|NJ|4|4th Congressional District}}, a change made by the [[New Jersey Redistricting Commission]] that took effect in January 2013, based on the results of the November 2012 general elections.<ref name=LWV2011/>

{{NJ Congress 03}} {{NJ Senate}}

{{NJ Legislative 14}}

{{NJ Mercer County Freeholders}}

===Politics===
As of March 2011, there were a total of 2,891 registered voters in Hightstown, of which 1,105 (38.2%) were registered as [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]], 542 (18.7%) were registered as [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] and 1,241 (42.9%) were registered as [[Unaffiliated (New Jersey)|Unaffiliated]]. There were 3 voters registered as [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarians]] or [[Green Party (United States)|Greens]].<ref>[http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/election-results/2011-mercer-co-summary-report.pdf Voter Registration Summary - Mercer], [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, March 23, 2011. Accessed November 21, 2012.</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:95%;"
|+ Presidential Elections Results
|- bgcolor=lightgrey
! Year
![[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
![[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
![[Third Party (United States)|Third Parties]]
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[2024 United States presidential election in New Jersey|2024]]<ref name="2024Elections">{{cite web|url=https://nj.gov/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/2024/2024-official-general-results-president-mercer.pdf|title=Presidential General Election Results - November 5, 2024 - Mercer County|publisher=New Jersey Department of Elections|access-date=January 8, 2025}}</ref>'''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Republican}}|32.0% ''759''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''66.3%'''  ''1,567''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |1.6% ''39''
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2020|2020]]<ref name="2020Elections">{{cite web|url=https://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/2020/2020-official-general-results-president-mercer.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210412002346/https://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/2020/2020-official-general-results-president-mercer.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 12, 2021|title=Presidential General Election Results - November 8, 2016 - Mercer County|publisher=New Jersey Department of Elections|access-date=December 31, 2017}}</ref>'''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Republican}}|29.3% ''789''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''68.0%'''  ''1,781''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |2.3% ''49''
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2016|2016]]<ref name="2016Elections">{{cite web|url=http://nj.gov/state/elections/2016-results/2016-gen-elect-presidential-results-mercer.pdf|title=Presidential General Election Results - November 8, 2016 - Mercer County|publisher=New Jersey Department of Elections|access-date=December 31, 2017}}{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>'''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Republican}}|32.1% ''729''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''63.4%'''  ''1,438''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |4.5% ''101''
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2012|2012]]<ref name="2012Elections">{{cite web|url=http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/2012-results/2012-presidential-mercer.pdf|title=Presidential General Election Results - November 6, 2012 - Mercer County|date=March 15, 2013|publisher=New Jersey Department of Elections|access-date=December 23, 2014}}</ref>'''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Republican}}|33.4% ''707''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''64.6%'''  ''1,369''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |2.0% ''42''
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2008|2008]]<ref name="state.nj.us">[http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/election-results/2008-gen-elect-presidential-results-mercer.rev.pdf 2008 Presidential General Election Results: Mercer County], [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, December 23, 2008. Accessed November 21, 2012.</ref>'''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Republican}}|30.8% ''685''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''67.6%'''  ''1,504''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |1.6% ''36''
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2004|2004]]<ref name="Presidential Election 2004">[http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/election-results/2004-presidential_mercer_co_2004.pdf 2004 Presidential Election: Mercer County], [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, December 13, 2004. Accessed November 21, 2012.</ref>'''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Republican}}|37.6% ''771''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''61.2%'''  ''1,254''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |1.2% ''25''
|-
|}

In the [[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2012|2012 presidential election]], Democrat [[Barack Obama]] received 64.6% of the vote (1,369 cast), ahead of Republican [[Mitt Romney]] with 33.4% (707 votes), and other candidates with 2.0% (42 votes), among the 2,308 ballots cast by the borough's 3,062 registered voters (190 ballots were [[Spoilt vote|spoiled]]), for a turnout of 75.4%.<ref name=2012Elections/><ref name=2012VoterReg>{{cite web |url=http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/2012-results/2012-ballotscast-mercer.pdf |title=Number of Registered Voters and Ballots Cast - November 6, 2012 - General Election Results - Mercer County|date=March 15, 2013 |publisher=New Jersey Department of Elections |access-date=December 23, 2014}}</ref> In the [[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2008|2008 presidential election]], Democrat Barack Obama received 66.8% of the vote (1,504 cast), ahead of Republican [[John McCain]] with 30.4% (685 votes) and other candidates with 1.6% (36 votes), among the 2,253 ballots cast by the borough's 2,962 registered voters, for a turnout of 76.1%.<ref name="state.nj.us"/> In the [[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2004|2004 presidential election]], Democrat [[John Kerry]] received 59.3% of the vote (1,254 ballots cast), outpolling Republican [[George W. Bush]] with 36.4% (771 votes) and other candidates with 0.9% (25 votes), among the 2,116 ballots cast by the borough's 2,776 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 76.2.<ref name="Presidential Election 2004"/>

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:95%;"
|+ Gubernatorial Elections Results
|- bgcolor=lightgrey
! Year
![[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
![[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
![[Third Party (United States)|Third Parties]]
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2021|2021]]<ref name="2021Elections">{{cite web|url=https://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/2021/2021-general-election-results-governor-mercer.pdf|title=Governor - Mercer County|publisher=New Jersey Department of Elections|access-date=December 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101135257/http://www.njelections.org/2017-results/2017-general-election-results-governor-mercer.pdf|archive-date=January 1, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>'''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Republican}}|35.2% ''523''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''63.4%'''  ''942''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |1.4% ''20''
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2017|2017]]<ref name="2017Elections">{{cite web|url=http://www.njelections.org/2017-results/2017-general-election-results-governor-mercer.pdf|title=Governor - Mercer County|publisher=New Jersey Department of Elections|access-date=December 31, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180101135257/http://www.njelections.org/2017-results/2017-general-election-results-governor-mercer.pdf|archive-date=January 1, 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>'''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Republican}}|38.7% ''493''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''58.4%'''  ''744''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |2.8% ''36''
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''[[New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2013|2013]]<ref name="2013Elections">{{cite web|url=http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/2013-results/2013-general-election-results-governor-mercer.pdf|title=Governor - Mercer County|date=January 29, 2014|publisher=New Jersey Department of Elections|access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref>'''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''57.9%''' ''765''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|38.8%  ''512''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |3.3% ''44''
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''[[New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2009|2009]]<ref name="2009 Governor: Mercer County">[http://www.njelections.org/election-results/2009-governor_results-mercer.pdf 2009 Governor: Mercer County] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120822213742/http://www.njelections.org/election-results/2009-governor_results-mercer.pdf |date=August 22, 2012 }}, [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, December 31, 2009. Accessed November 21, 2012.</ref>'''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''46.2%''' ''700''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|44.8%  ''679''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |8.2% ''123''
|-
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''[[New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2005|2005]]<ref>[http://www.njelections.org/election-results/2005governor's_results-mercer.pdf 2005 Governor: Mercer County] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160707151030/http://www.njelections.org/election-results/2005governor's_results-mercer.pdf |date=July 7, 2016 }}, [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections. Accessed December 31, 2017.</ref>'''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Republican}}|41.2% ''582''
| style="text-align:center; {{Party shading/Democratic}}|'''53.1%''' ''750''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |5.7% ''80''
|}

In the [[New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2013|2013 gubernatorial election]], Republican [[Chris Christie]] received 57.9% of the vote (765 cast), ahead of Democrat [[Barbara Buono]] with 38.8% (512 votes), and other candidates with 3.3% (44 votes), among the 1,341 ballots cast by the borough's 2,961 registered voters (20 ballots were [[Spoilt vote|spoiled]]), for a turnout of 45.3%. In the [[New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2009|2009 gubernatorial election]], Republican Chris Christie received 46.2% of the vote (700 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat [[Jon Corzine]] with 44.8% (679 votes), Independent [[Chris Daggett]] with 7.1% (107 votes) and other candidates with 1.1% (16 votes), among the 1,514 ballots cast by the borough's 2,908 registered voters, yielding a 52.1% turnout.<ref name="2009 Governor: Mercer County"/>