Editing Neptune Township, New Jersey (section)

=== Local government ===
Neptune Township is governed under the [[Township (New Jersey)|Township]] form of New Jersey municipal government, one of 141 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form, the second-most commonly used form of government in the state.<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><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> The Township Committee is comprised of five members, who are elected directly by the voters [[at-large]] in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year as part of the November general election 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. 58.</ref><ref>[https://njdatabook.rutgers.edu/sites/njdatabook.rutgers.edu/files/documents/forms_of_municipal_government_in_new_jersey_9220.pdf#page=7 "Forms of Municipal Government in New Jersey"], p. 7. [[Rutgers University]] Center for Government Studies. Accessed June 1, 2023.</ref> At an annual reorganization meeting the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor and another as Deputy Mayor.

{{As of|2025}}, Members of the Neptune Township committee are [[Mayor]] Robert Lane Jr. (D, term on committee and as mayor ends December 31, 2025), Deputy Mayor Kevin McMillan (term on committee ends 2027; term as deputy mayor ends 2025), Jason A. Jones (D, 2025; appointed to serve an unexpired term), Derel M. Stroud (D, 2027) and Tassie D. York (D, 2025).<ref name=Committee>[https://neptunetownship.org/2025-neptune-township-committee Township Committee], Neptune Township. Accessed January 30, 2025.</ref><ref>[https://neptunetownship.org/sites/default/files/documents/2024Clerk/1334_adoptbudget_2024.pdf 2024 Municipal Data Sheet], Neptune Township. Accessed January 30, 2025.</ref><ref name=Monmouth2024>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Monmouth/122857/web.345435/#/summary November 5, 2024 General Election Official Results], [[Monmouth County, New Jersey]], updated December 16, 2024. Accessed January 1, 2025.</ref><ref name=Monmouth2023>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Monmouth/119047/web.317647/#/summary November 8, 2023 General Election Official Results], [[Monmouth County, New Jersey]], updated January 18, 2024. Accessed January 22, 2024.</ref><ref name=Monmouth2022>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Monmouth/116246/web.307039/#/summary General Election November 8, 2022 Official Results], [[Monmouth County, New Jersey]] Clerk, updated December 27, 2022. Accessed January 1, 2023.</ref>

In October 2024, after the township committee didn't make a choice from the three candidates nominated, the township's Democratic Party committee chose past Neptune Board of Education President Jason A. Jones to fill the seat expiring in December 2025 that became vacant following the resignation of Keith Cafferty the previous month.<ref>Daye, Charles. [https://www.app.com/story/news/local/neptune-wall/neptune/2024/10/24/neptune-township-committee-job-jason-jones/75807503007/ "Candidate who was skipped over twice before gets Neptune Township Committee job"], ''[[Asbury Park Press]]'', October 24, 2024. Accessed January 30, 2025. "The local Democratic Party chose to fill the vacant seat on the Township Committee with Jason Jones, who had been passed on twice before in the past year and was once fired from his job as a school business administrator.... Township Committeeman and former mayor Keith Cafferty resigned last month due to personal reasons, leaving a vacant seat on the governing body for the third time in 12 months.... Under state law, since the Township Committee did not appoint one of the three people submitted by the local Democratic Executive Committee, it went back to the Democrats, who had until Oct. 30 to choose one of the three themselves."</ref>

In April 2021, the Township Committee selected Tassie York to fill the seat expiring in December 2022 that had been held by Carol J. Rizzo until she resigned from office to move out of the county.<ref>Cervenka, Susanne. [https://www.app.com/story/news/local/communitychange/2021/04/15/neptune-township-replaces-committeewoman-carol-rizzo-tassie-york/7212541002/ "Lifelong Neptune woman joins Township Committee after previous member resigns and moves"], ''[[Asbury Park Press]]'', April 15, 2021. Accessed May 16, 2022. "The township has a new committee member after former Committeewoman Carol Rizzo moved to Ocean County. The Neptune Township Committee selected Tassie York as Rizzo's replacement Monday night."</ref> York served on an interim basis until the November 2022 general election, when she was elected to serve the balance of the term of office.<ref name=Monmouth2021>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Monmouth/111499/web.278093/#/summary November 2, 2021 General Election Official Results], [[Monmouth County, New Jersey]], December 13, 2021. Accessed January 1, 2022.</ref>

In January 2016, the Township Council selected Carol J. Rizzo from three candidates nominated by the Democratic municipal committee to fill the seat expiring in December 2016 which was vacated by [[Eric Houghtaling]] when he took office in the [[New Jersey General Assembly]] earlier that month.<ref>Stine, Don. [http://thecoaster.net/wordpress/new-committee-member-in-neptune/ "New Committee Member in Neptune"], ''The Coaster'', January 29, 2016. June 1, 2016. "Resident Carol J. Rizzo was appointed to the Neptune Township Committee Monday night to fill the unexpired term of Eric Houghtaling, who took office in the State Assembly earlier this month."</ref>