Editing Far Hills, New Jersey (section)

==Government==

===Local government===
Far Hills 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. 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. 77.</ref> The borough form of government used by Far Hills 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=2014-09-24 }}, [[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>

{{As of|2024}}, the mayor of Far Hills is [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] Kevin Welsh, whose term of office ends on December 31, 2026. Members of the Far Hills Borough Council are Council President David P. Karner (R, 2025), Joseph E. Carty (R, 2026), Mary Chimenti (R, 2024), Peter J. Cocoziello Jr. (R, 2024; appointed to serve an unexpired term), Richard L. Rinzler (R, 2025) and Charles P. Schwester (R, 2026) and Kevin Welsh (R, 2024).<ref name=Council>[https://www.farhillsnj.org/borough_council.php Borough Council], Borough of Far Hills. Accessed May 22, 2024. "The Borough of Far Hills Council consists of the Mayor and 6 Council members. The Mayor is elected for a four year term and Council members are elected for a three year term."</ref><ref>[https://cms1files.revize.com/farhills/2024%20Borough%20of%20Far%20Hills%20Budget%20-%20Adopted%205.13.2024.pdf 2024 Municipal Data Sheet], Borough of Far Hills. Accessed May 22, 2024.</ref><ref name=SomersetDirectory>[https://www.co.somerset.nj.us/home/showpublisheddocument/46227/638203671214730000#page=58 ''2023 Directory of County & Municipal Offices''], [[Somerset County, New Jersey]]. Accessed April 10, 2024.</ref><ref name=Somerset2023>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Somerset/119024/web.317647/#/summary 2023 General Election November 7, 2023 Certified Official Results RESULTS], [[Somerset County, New Jersey]], November 29, 2023. Accessed January 1, 2024.</ref><ref name=Somerset2022>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Somerset/116175/web.307039/#/summary General Election November 8, 2022 Final Certified Results], [[Somerset County, New Jersey]], updated November 23, 2022. Accessed January 1, 2023.</ref><ref name=Somerset2021>[https://www.co.somerset.nj.us/home/showpublisheddocument/43891/637725959984900000 2021 General Election Winning Candidates], [[Somerset County, New Jersey]]. Accessed January 1, 2022.</ref>

Peter Cocoziello was appointed in January 2023 to fill the seat expiring in December 2024 that had been held by Kevin Walsh until he stepped down to take office as mayor.<ref>Perry, W. Jacob. [https://www.newjerseyhills.com/townnews/polo/ex-mayoral-candidate-appointed-to-far-hills-borough-council/article_9f847ef6-a0cc-11ed-94a6-a7bf6be3b229.html "Ex-mayoral candidate appointed to Far Hills Borough Council"], ''New Jersey Hills'', January 30, 2023. Accessed May 22, 2024. "The businessman, Peter Cocoziello of Lake Road, was appointed by the council on Monday, Jan. 23, to fill the seat that had been held by Kevin Welsh before Welsh was sworn in as mayor on Jan. 3."</ref> Cocoziello served on an interim basis until the November 2023 general election, when voters chose him to serve the balance of the term of office.<ref name=Somerset2023/>

In November 2019, the borough council selected Ted McLean to fill the weeks remaining in the seat expiring in December 2019 that had been held by David R. Surks until he resigned from office earlier that month. Surks was re-elected in the November 2019 general election<ref>Perry, Jacob W. [https://www.newjerseyhills.com/bernardsville_news/news/new-council-member-takes-oath-in-far-hills-after-surks/article_99b21a83-9f83-5cc6-bd21-0c6012a3d033.html "New council member takes oath in Far Hills after Surks resigns"], ''The Bernardsville News'', November 27, 2019. Accessed February 20, 2020. "Edward R. McLean of Mallet Lane filled a vacancy left by the resignation of Republican Councilman David Surks, who quit shortly before the Nov. 5 election but remained on the ballot and was re-elected."</ref> In January 2020, McLean was appointed to fill Surks' term expiring in December 2022 and will serve on an interim basis until the November 2020 general election.<ref>[https://www.farhillsnj.org/2020%20Borough%20Council%20Minutes%20010620-Reorg.pdf Borough Council Reorganization Minutes for January 6, 2020], Borough of Far Hills. Accessed February 20, 2020. "Resolution 20-001: Appointment - Borough Council - Ted McLean.... Senator Thomas Kean Jr. administered the Oath of Office to Ted McLean as a member of the Borough Council for a term expiring at the next general election to be held November 2020."</ref>

===Emergency services===
Emergency services in the borough are offered by the Far Hills-Bedminster Fire Department, Far Hills Police Department, and Far Hills-Bedminster First Aid Squad. Far Hills-Bedminster Fire Department roots back to the establishment of Union Hook & Ladder Company #1 in December 1900; The current name was adopted in 1998 to avoid confusion with other departments with similar names.<ref>[https://www.fhbfd.org/about About the Department], Far Hills-Bedminster Fire Department. Accessed July 14, 2022.</ref>

===Federal, state and county representation===
Far Hills is located in the 7th 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 21st 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#21 Districts by Number for 2011-2020], [[New Jersey Legislature]]. Accessed January 6, 2013.</ref>

{{NJ Congress 07}} {{NJ Senate}}

{{NJ Legislative 21}}

{{NJ Somerset County Commissioners}}

===Politics===
As of March 2011, there were a total of 748 registered voters in Far Hills, of which 97 (13.0% vs. 26.0% countywide) were registered as [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]], 382 (51.1% vs. 25.7%) were registered as [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] and 268 (35.8% vs. 48.2%) were registered as [[Unaffiliated (New Jersey)|Unaffiliated]]. There was one voter registered to another party.<ref name=VoterRegistration>[http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/election-results/2011-somerset-co-summary-report.pdf Voter Registration Summary - Somerset], [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, March 23, 2011. Accessed February 12, 2013.</ref> Among the borough's 2010 Census population, 81.4% (vs. 60.4% in Somerset County) were registered to vote, including 107.2% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 80.4% 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=2020-02-12 }}, [[United States Census Bureau]]. Accessed February 12, 2013.</ref>

In the [[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2012|2012 presidential election]], Republican [[Mitt Romney]] received 70.6% of the vote (348 cast), ahead of Democrat [[Barack Obama]] with 27.8% (137 votes), and other candidates with 1.0% (5 votes), among the 493 ballots cast by the borough's 793 registered voters (3 ballots were [[Spoilt vote|spoiled]]), for a turnout of 62.2%.<ref name=2012Elections>{{cite web |url=http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/2012-results/2012-presidential-somerset.pdf |title=Presidential General Election Results - November 6, 2012 - Somerset 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-somerset.pdf |title=Number of Registered Voters and Ballots Cast - November 6, 2012 - General Election Results - Somerset 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 355 votes (63.1% vs. 46.1% countywide), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 196 votes (34.8% vs. 52.1%) and other candidates with 5 votes (0.9% vs. 1.1%), among the 563 ballots cast by the borough's 726 registered voters, for a turnout of 77.5% (vs. 78.7% in Somerset County).<ref>[http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/election-results/2008-gen-elect-presidential-results-somerset.pdf 2008 Presidential General Election Results: Somerset County], [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, December 23, 2008. Accessed February 12, 2013.</ref> In the [[United States presidential election in New Jersey, 2004|2004 presidential election]], Republican [[George W. Bush]] received 342 votes (67.7% vs. 51.5% countywide), ahead of Democrat [[John Kerry]] with 160 votes (31.7% vs. 47.2%) and other candidates with 2 votes (0.4% vs. 0.9%), among the 505 ballots cast by the borough's 636 registered voters, for a turnout of 79.4% (vs. 81.7% in the whole county).<ref>[http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/election-results/2004-presidential_somerset_co_2004.pdf 2004 Presidential Election: Somerset County], [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, December 13, 2004. Accessed February 12, 2013.</ref>

In the [[New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2013|2013 gubernatorial election]], Republican [[Chris Christie]] received 84.9% of the vote (275 cast), ahead of Democrat [[Barbara Buono]] with 13.0% (42 votes), and other candidates with 2.2% (7 votes), among the 324 ballots cast by the borough's 799 registered voters, for a turnout of 40.6%.<ref name=2013Elections>{{cite web |url=http://www.state.nj.us/state/elections/2013-results/2013-general-election-results-governor-somerset.pdf |title=Governor - Somerset 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-somerset.pdf |title=Number of Registered Voters and Ballots Cast - November 5, 2013 - General Election Results - Somerset 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 282 votes (69.6% vs. 55.8% countywide), ahead of Democrat [[Jon Corzine]] with 65 votes (16.0% vs. 34.1%), Independent [[Chris Daggett]] with 52 votes (12.8% vs. 8.7%) and other candidates with 5 votes (1.2% vs. 0.7%), among the 405 ballots cast by the borough's 743 registered voters, yielding a 54.5% turnout (vs. 52.5% in the county).<ref>[http://www.njelections.org/election-results/2009-governor_results-somerset.pdf 2009 Governor: Somerset County] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150202005801/http://www.njelections.org/election-results/2009-governor_results-somerset.pdf |date=2015-02-02 }}, [[New Jersey Department of State]] Division of Elections, December 31, 2009. Accessed February 12, 2013.</ref>

{| class="wikitable"  style="float:right; margin:1em; font-size:95%;"
|+ Far Hills vote by party <br/> in presidential elections<ref>{{Cite web |title=NJ DOS - Division of Elections - Election Results Archive |url=https://nj.gov/state/elections/election-information-results.shtml |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=nj.gov}}</ref>
|- style="background:lightgrey;"
! Year
! [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
! [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
! [[Third party (United States)|Third Parties]]
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|[[2024 United States presidential election|2024]]
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|39.4% ''237''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''58.0%''' ''349''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Independent}}|2.5% ''15''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|[[2020 United States presidential election|2020]]
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|46.4% ''302''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''51.3%''' ''334''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Independent}}|1.5% ''10''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|[[2016 United States presidential election|2016]]
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|40.7% ''224''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''56.8%''' ''313''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Independent}}|2.5% ''14''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|[[2012 United States presidential election|2012]]
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|27.8%''137''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''70.6%''' ''348''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Independent}}|1.0% ''5''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|[[2008 United States presidential election|2008]]
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|34.8% ''196''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''63.1%''' ''355''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Independent}}|0.9% ''5''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|[[2004 United States presidential election|2004]]
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|31.7% ''160''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''67.7%''' ''342''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Independent}}|0.4% ''2''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|[[2000 United States presidential election|2000]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/65708471/somerset-middlesex-morris-and-union/|title = Somerset, Middlesex, Morris, and Union counties, NJ presidential election, 2000|newspaper = The Courier-News|date = November 8, 2000|page = 14}}</ref>
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|27.56% ''113''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''67.32%''' ''276''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Independent}}|5.12% ''21''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|[[1996 United States presidential election|1996]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59817606/central-new-jersey-presidential/|title = Central New Jersey presidential election results, 1996|newspaper = The Courier-News|date = November 6, 1996|page = 18}}</ref>
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|28.49% ''106''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''68.01%''' ''253''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Independent}}|3.49% ''13''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|[[1992 United States presidential election|1992]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZL7tYBLB1m0C&q=far+hills+boro|title=Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey|year=1993}}</ref>
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|30.06% ''95''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''69.94%''' ''221''
|-
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|[[1988 United States presidential election|1988]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/59817715/central-new-jersey-presidential/|title = Central New Jersey Presidential election results, 1988|newspaper = The Courier-News|date = November 9, 1988|page = 18}}</ref>
|align="center" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|21.29% ''79''
|align="center" {{Party shading/Republican}}|'''78.71%''' ''292''
|-
|}