Editing Surf City, New Jersey (section)

== Government ==
=== Local government ===
Surf City 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 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. 49.</ref> The borough form of government used by Surf City 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|2025}}, the mayor of Surf City Borough is [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] Francis R. Hodgson Sr., whose term of office ends December 31, 2027. After serving 46 years on the borough council, Hodgson succeeded [[Leonard T. Connors|Leonard T. Connors Jr.]], who had served as the state senator from the 9th Legislative District and spent 50 years as mayor. With the death of [[Tinton Falls, NJ|Tinton Falls]] mayor Vito Perillo in 2025, Hodgson is currently the oldest incumbent mayor in New Jersey at the age of 92.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wildstein |first1=David |title=Political dynasties in a tiny Long Beach Island town |url=https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/political-dynasties-in-a-tiny-long-beach-island-town/ |website=New Jersey Globe |date=1 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Wildstein |first1=David |title=America's oldest mayor dies at 100 |url=https://newjerseyglobe.com/fr/americas-oldest-mayor-dies-at-100/ |website=New Jersey Globe |date=23 February 2025}}</ref> Members of the Surf City Borough Council are Council President John H. Klose (R, 2024), Peter M. Hartney (R, 2022), William D. Hodgson (R, 2023), John D. McMenamin (R, 2023;appointed to serve an unexpired term), James B. Russell (R, 2024) and Jacqueline L. Siciliano (R, 2022).<ref name=Government>[https://surfcitynj.org/government/ Government], Borough of Surf City. Accessed September 4, 2022.</ref><ref>[http://surfcitynj.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/SC2018BUDGET.intro_.pdf 2018 Municipal Data Sheet], Borough of Surf City. Accessed September 4, 2022.</ref><ref name=OceanProfile>[https://www.co.ocean.nj.us/frmGovDirPage.aspx?ID=236 Borough of Surf City], [[Ocean County, New Jersey]]. Accessed September 4, 2022.</ref><ref name=OceanOfficials>[https://www.co.ocean.nj.us/WebContentFiles/70fc90f8-5e4e-4454-a3c1-8ca3d0911f87.pdf ''2022 Ocean County & Municipal Elected Officials''], [[Ocean County, New Jersey]] Clerk, updated August 25, 2022. Accessed September 1, 2022.</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><ref name=Ocean2020>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Ocean/106715/web.264614/#/summary 2020 General Election November 3, 2020 Official results], [[Ocean County, New Jersey]], updated December 2, 2020. Accessed January 1, 2021.</ref><ref name=Ocean2019>[https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Ocean/98863/web/#/summary 2019 General Election Official Results November 5, 2019], [[Ocean County, New Jersey]] Clerk, updated November 15, 2019. Accessed January 1, 2020.</ref> All of the seats on the borough council have been held by Republicans since Democrat Donald Cummings served on the council in the early 1960s; the last major electoral performance by a Democrat in a borough council election was in 1969 when Hodgson Sr. defeated Cummings' comeback bid by 200 votes.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Wildstein |first1=David |title=Political dynasties in a tiny Long Beach Island town |url=https://newjerseyglobe.com/local/political-dynasties-in-a-tiny-long-beach-island-town/ |website=New Jersey Globe |date=1 December 2023}}</ref>

John D. McMenamin was appointed to fill the council seat expiring in December 2023 that was vacant following the resignation of John G. Hadash III that same month.<ref>Scala, Gina G. [https://www.thesandpaper.net/articles/mcmenamin-appointed-to-surf-city-borough-council/ "McMenamin Appointed to Surf City Borough Council"], The Sand Paper, October 20, 2021. Accessed September 4, 2022. "Changes are in store for the Surf City Borough Council after one member resigned and another was granted relief from attending meetings due to a temporary illness by his peers at their monthly meeting last week. John G. Hadash III tendered his resignation earlier this month after selling his home in town."</ref>

In January 2016, John G. Hadash III was appointed to fill the seat expiring in December 2017 that had been held by Francis R. Hodgson Sr., until he stepped down in January 2016 to take office as mayor.<ref>Staff. [https://thesandpaper.villagesoup.com/p/francis-hodgson-takes-over-as-mayor-of-surf-city-after-serving-46-years-on-council/1467474 "Francis Hodgson Takes Over as Mayor of Surf City After Serving 46 Years on Council"], ''The Sand Paper'', January 13, 2016. Accessed June 6, 2018. "John Hadash was named head of the sanitation committee after being elected to fill the vacant council seat."</ref> Hadash served on an interim basis until the November 2016 general election, when voters chose him to serve the balance of the term of office.<ref name=Ocean2016>[http://results.enr.clarityelections.com/NJ/Ocean/64650/Web02/#/ 2016 General Election Official Results November 8, 2016], [[Ocean County, New Jersey]] Clerk, updated November 16, 2016. Accessed January 30, 2017.</ref>

=== Federal, state and county representation ===
Surf City is located in the 2nd 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 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 1,030 registered voters in Surf City, of which 166 (16.1%) were registered as [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democrats]], 433 (42.0%) were registered as [[Republican Party (United States)|Republicans]] and 427 (41.5%) 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 borough's 2010 Census population, 85.5% (vs. 63.2% in Ocean County) were registered to vote, including 94.3% 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 61.8% of the vote (402 cast), ahead of Democrat [[Barack Obama]] with 37.8% (246 votes), and other candidates with 0.3% (2 votes), among the 655 ballots cast by the city's 1,108 registered voters (5 ballots were [[Spoilt vote|spoiled]]), for a turnout of 59.1%.<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 60.9% of the vote (485 cast), ahead of Democrat Barack Obama with 37.5% (299 votes) and other candidates with 1.0% (8 votes), among the 797 ballots cast by the borough's 1,078 registered voters, for a turnout of 73.9%.<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 60.8% of the vote (511 ballots cast), outpolling Democrat [[John Kerry]] with 38.0% (320 votes) and other candidates with 0.4% (5 votes), among the 841 ballots cast by the borough's 1,153 registered voters, for a turnout percentage of 72.9.<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}}|'''52.8%''' ''493''
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|45.2%  ''422''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |2.0% ''15''
|-
| 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}}|'''54.1%''' ''504''
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|44.4%  ''413''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |1.5% ''11''
|-
| 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}}|'''56.4%''' ''440''
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|40.4% ''315''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |3.2% ''25''
|-
| 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}}|'''61.8%''' ''402''
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|37.8%  ''246''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |0.3% ''2''
|-
| 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}}|'''60.9%''' ''485''
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|37.5%  ''299''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |1.0% ''8''
|-
| 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}}|'''60.8%''' ''511''
| style="text-align:center;" {{Party shading/Democratic}}|38.0%   ''320''
| style="text-align:center; background:honeyDew;" |0.4% ''5''
|-
|}

In the [[New Jersey gubernatorial election, 2013|2013 gubernatorial election]], Republican [[Chris Christie]] received 82.8% of the vote (448 cast), ahead of Democrat [[Barbara Buono]] with 15.9% (86 votes), and other candidates with 1.3% (7 votes), among the 559 ballots cast by the city's 1,070 registered voters (18 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 52.2%.<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 61.2% of the vote (417 ballots cast), ahead of Democrat [[Jon Corzine]] with 31.0% (211 votes), Independent [[Chris Daggett]] with 5.9% (40 votes) and other candidates with 0.3% (2 votes), among the 681 ballots cast by the borough's 1,043 registered voters, yielding a 65.3% 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>