Editing Stafford Township, New Jersey (section)

==Government==

===Local government===
Stafford Township is governed within the [[Faulkner Act]], formally known as the Optional Municipal Charter Law, under the [[Faulkner Act (small municipality)|Small Municipality]] form of New Jersey municipal government. The township is one of 18 (of the 564) municipalities statewide that use this form of government, which is only available to municipalities with fewer than 12,000 residents at the time of adoption.<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>[https://njdatabook.rutgers.edu/sites/njdatabook.rutgers.edu/files/documents/forms_of_municipal_government_in_new_jersey_9220.pdf#page=14 "Forms of Municipal Government in New Jersey"], p. 14. [[Rutgers University]] Center for Government Studies. Accessed June 1, 2023.</ref> The governing body is comprised of the Mayor and the six-member Township Council. The Mayor and Council members are elected to three-year terms on a concurrent basis in partisan elections. The mayor can vote on all issues. The seven-member governing body is empowered to enact local ordinances, levy municipal taxes and conduct the community's affairs.<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://web.archive.org/web/20100202024341/http://twp.stafford.nj.us/government/index.php Stafford Township Form Of Government], Stafford Township, backed up by the [[Internet Archive]] as of February 2, 2010. Accessed January 2, 2013.</ref> In a November 2010 referendum, voters approved a change to shift from nonpartisan elections held in May to partisan elections held as part of the November general election, with costs savings from the shift cited as the primary justification for the move.<ref>Lala, Elisa. [http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/breaking/stafford-township-voters-approve-moving-municipal-elections-to-november/article_ba292cc8-e6fa-11df-973e-001cc4c03286.html?mode=jqm "Stafford Township voters approve moving municipal elections to November"], ''[[The Press of Atlantic City]]'', November 3, 2010. Accessed October 27, 2014. "Township residents voted overwhelmingly Tuesday to move annual nonpartisan elections from May to November.... Officials argued that moving the elections to the fall would save the township $50,000."</ref>

{{As of|2024}}, the mayor of Stafford Township is [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] Robert E. Henken, who was appointed to serve an unexpired term of office ending December 31, 2024. Members of the Stafford Township Council are Council President Lisa D. Mower, Steven Esposito, Paul Krier, Owen LaRocca (appointed to serve an unexpired term), Amy Otte and Thomas N. Steadman; all are Republicans and all are serving terms which end concurrently in 2024.<ref name=MayorCouncil>[https://www.staffordnj.gov/453/Mayor-and-Council Mayor & Council], Stafford Township. Accessed August 21, 2024.</ref><ref>[https://www.staffordnj.gov/DocumentCenter/View/6630/Stafford-Township-2024-Adopted-Municipal-Budget?bidId= 2024 Municipal Data Sheet], Stafford Township. Accessed August 21, 2024.</ref><ref name=OceanProfile>[https://www.co.ocean.nj.us/frmGovDirPage.aspx?ID=235 Township of Stafford], [[Ocean County, New Jersey]]. Accessed August 21, 2024.</ref><ref name=OceanOfficials>[https://co.ocean.nj.us/WebContentFiles/70fc90f8-5e4e-4454-a3c1-8ca3d0911f87.pdf ''2024 Ocean County & Municipal Elected Officials''], [[Ocean County, New Jersey]] Clerk, updated August 19, 2024. Accessed August 21, 2024.</ref><ref name=Ocean2021>[https://www.co.ocean.nj.us/WebContentFiles/07aecb2a-f6ce-4ef4-a6c3-7b7546fc9e3f.pdf 2021 General Election Official Results], [[Ocean County, New Jersey]]. Accessed January 1, 2022.</ref>

After [[Greg Myhre]] stepped down from office to take a seat in the [[New Jersey General Assembly]] in January 2024, councilmember Robert Henken was appointed to fill his seat as mayor; in turn, Owen LaRocca was appointed to fill Henken's vacant council seat.<ref>Sharkey, Pat. [https://www.tapinto.net/towns/stafford-slash-lbi/sections/government/articles/owen-larocca-sworn-in-to-serve-on-stafford-township-council "Owen LaRocca Sworn In to Serve on Stafford Township Council"], [[TAPinto]] Stafford / LBI, February 23, 2024. Accessed August 21, 2024. "Mayor Henken and the Township Council, along with Assemblyman Myhre, welcomed Owen LaRocca as the newest member of the Township Council during last week's Township Council meeting. LaRocca fills the opening left after the resignation of Greg Myhre and the appointment of Robert Henken as Mayor."</ref>

In November 2022, Steven Esposito was elected to fill a vacant council seat.<ref>Sharkey, Pat. [https://www.tapinto.net/towns/stafford-slash-lbi/sections/government/articles/steven-esposito-sworn-in-as-new-stafford-councilman-at-tuesday-night-council-meeting "Steven Esposito Sworn In as New Stafford Councilman at Tuesday Night Council Meeting"], [[TAPinto]] Stafford /LBI, November 22, 2022. Accessed August 21, 2024. "Republican Steven Esposito was sworn into Stafford Township Council by Mayor Greg Myhre on Tuesday evening to fill a two-year term."</ref> Thomas Bresnahanhad been appointed the previous August to fill the seat after Anthony Guariglia had resigned.<ref>Flesher, Thomas. [https://patch.com/new-jersey/barnegat-manahawkin/new-stafford-council-member-sworn "New Stafford Council Member Sworn In"], Barnegat-Manahawkin, NJ [[PatchMedia|Patch]], August 4, 2022.Accessed August 21, 2024. "A new council member was sworn in to the Stafford Township Council on Aug. 1. The council unanimously approved Thomas Bresnahan's appointment to the council in a special meeting. Bresnahan was appointed to fill a vacancy left by the resignation of Councilman Dr. Anthony Guariglia, who resigned last month."</ref>

===Federal, state, and county representation===
Stafford Township is in the 2nd 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 9th state legislative district.<ref name=Districts2023>[https://pub.njleg.gov/publications/pdf/2023-NJ-Leg-District-Map.pdf Municipalities Sorted by 2023-2031 Legislative District], [[New Jersey Department of State]]. Accessed September 1, 2023.</ref>

{{NJ Congress 02}} {{NJ Senate}}

{{NJ Legislative 09}}

{{NJ Ocean County Commissioners}}

===Politics===
As of March 2011, there were a total of 18,029 registered voters in Stafford Township, of which 3,451 (19.1%) were registered as [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]], 4,944 (27.4%) were registered as [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] and 9,630 (53.4%) were registered as [[Unaffiliated (New Jersey)|Unaffiliated]]. There were 4 voters registered as [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarians]] or [[Green Party (United States)|Greens]].<ref name=VoterRegistration>[http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/election-results/2011-ocean-co-summary-report.pdf Voter Registration Summary - Ocean], [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, March 23, 2011. Accessed January 2, 2013.</ref> Among the township's 2010 Census population, 67.9% (vs. 63.2% in Ocean County) were registered to vote, including 88.0% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 82.6% countywide).<ref name=VoterRegistration/><ref>[http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTP7.ST16?slice=GEO~0400000US34 GCT-P7: Selected Age Groups: 2010 - State -- County Subdivision; 2010 Census Summary File 1 for New Jersey] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20200212202223/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_SF1/GCTP7.ST16?slice=GEO~0400000US34 |date=February 12, 2020 }}, [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed January 2, 2013.</ref>

In the [[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2012|2012 presidential election]], Republican [[Mitt Romney]] received 57.9% of the vote (7,159 cast), ahead of Democrat [[Barack Obama]] with 41.0% (5,075 votes), and other candidates with 1.1% (138 votes), among the 12,480 ballots cast by the township's 18,963 registered voters (108 ballots were [[Spoilt vote|spoiled]]), for a turnout of 65.8%.<ref name=2012Elections>{{cite web |url=http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/2012-results/2012-presidential-ocean.pdf |title=Presidential General Election Results - November 6, 2012 - Ocean 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-ocean.pdf |title=Number of Registered Voters and Ballots Cast - November 6, 2012 - General Election Results - Ocean 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]], Republican [[John McCain]] received 57.3% of the vote (7,508 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 40.8% (5,351 votes) and other candidates with 1.1% (150 votes), among the 13,113 ballots cast by the township's 18,430 registered voters, for a turnout of 71.2%.<ref>[http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/election-results/2008-gen-elect-presidential-results-ocean.pdf 2008 Presidential General Election Results: Ocean County], [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, December 23, 2008. Accessed January 2, 2013.</ref> In the [[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2004|2004 presidential election]], Republican [[George W. Bush]] received 60.4% of the vote (7,396 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat [[John Kerry]] with 38.6% (4,722 votes) and other candidates with 0.5% (90 votes), among the 12,239 ballots cast by the township's 16,776 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 73.0.<ref>[http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/election-results/2004-presidential_ocean_co_2004_1.26.05.pdf 2004 Presidential Election: Ocean County], [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, December 13, 2004. Accessed January 2, 2013.</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="float:right; font-size:95%;"
|+ Presidential Elections Results
!Year
![[Republican Party (New Jersey)|Republican]]
![[Democratic Party (New Jersey)|Democratic]]
![[Third Party (United States)|Third Parties]]
|-
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''[[2024 United States presidential election in New Jersey|2024]]<ref name="2024Elections">{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/2024/2024-official-general-results-president-ocean.pdf|title=Presidential General Election Results - November 5, 2024 - Ocean County|publisher=New Jersey Department of Elections|access-date=December 31, 2024}}</ref>'''
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''66.0%''' ''11,839''
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|32.7%  ''5,867''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |1.3% ''209''
|-
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''[[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2020|2020]]<ref name="2020Elections">{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/2020/2020-official-general-results-president-ocean.pdf|title=Presidential General Election Results - November 3, 2020 - Ocean County|publisher=New Jersey Department of Elections|access-date=December 31, 2020}}</ref>'''
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''62.4%''' ''11,156''
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|35.8%  ''6,408''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |1.8% ''259''
|-
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''[[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2016|2016]]<ref name="2016Elections">{{cite web|url=https://www.nj.gov/state/elections/assets/pdf/election-results/2016/2016-gen-elect-presidential-results-ocean.pdf|title=Presidential General Election Results - November 8, 2016 - Ocean County|publisher=New Jersey Department of Elections|access-date=December 31, 2017}}</ref>'''
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''65.8%''' ''9,116''
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|31.2% ''4,316''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |3.0% ''413''
|-
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''[[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2012|2012]]<ref name=2012Election>{{Cite web |url=http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/2012-results/2012-presidential-ocean.pdf |title=Presidential General Election Results - November 6, 2012 - Ocean County |date=March 15, 2013 |publisher=New Jersey Department of Elections |access-date=December 24, 2014}}</ref>'''
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''57.9%''' ''7,159''
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|41.0%  ''5,075''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |1.1% ''138''
|-
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''[[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2008|2008]]'''<ref>[http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/election-results/2008-gen-elect-presidential-results-ocean.pdf 2008 Presidential General Election Results: Ocean County], [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, December 23, 2008. Accessed December 24, 2012.</ref>
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''57.3%''' ''7,508''
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|40.8%  ''5,351''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |1.1% ''150''
|-
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''[[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2004|2004]]'''<ref>[http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/election-results/2004-presidential_ocean_co_2004_1.26.05.pdf 2004 Presidential Election: Ocean County], [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, December 13, 2004. Accessed December 24, 2012.</ref>
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''60.4%''' ''7,396''
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|38.6%   ''4,722''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |0.5% ''90''
|-
|}

In the [[New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2013|2013 gubernatorial election]], Republican [[Chris Christie]] received 74.4% of the vote (5,602 cast), ahead of Democrat [[Barbara Buono]] with 24.3% (1,829 votes), and other candidates with 1.3% (101 votes), among the 7,676 ballots cast by the township's 18,813 registered voters (144 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 40.8%.<ref name=2013Elections>{{cite web |url=http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/2013-results/2013-general-election-results-governor-ocean.pdf |title=Governor - Ocean 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-ocean.pdf |title=Number of Registered Voters and Ballots Cast - November 5, 2013 - General Election Results - Ocean 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]], Republican Chris Christie received 64.9% of the vote (5,746 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat [[Jon Corzine]] with 28.3% (2,511 votes), Independent [[Chris Daggett]] with 4.9% (431 votes) and other candidates with 1.2% (102 votes), among the 8,859 ballots cast by the township's 18,174 registered voters, yielding a 48.7% turnout.<ref>[http://www.njelections.org/election-results/2009-governor_results-ocean.pdf 2009 Governor: Ocean County] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017230602/http://www.njelections.org/election-results/2009-governor_results-ocean.pdf |date=October 17, 2012 }}, [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, December 31, 2009. Accessed January 2, 2013.</ref>