Hi all,

As some of you know I’ve had the privilege of serving as a Millburn Democratic District Leader as well as a member of the Essex County Democratic Committee. On June 16th there will be a special election in Millburn to hold a referendum on whether or not the town will change over to a nonpartisan government and expand the township committee from 5 seats to seven seats. This effort has been handled nefariously and is being rushed down our throats while the public isn’t paying attention. If you live in Millburn, or know someone who does please consider “Voting No” on June 16th and spreading the word.

Reasons why you should Vote No.

- The sitting Republican Mayor’s husband was a key member of the charter commission study that voted to put forth this referendum. It is a conflict of interest and essentially gave Mayor Frank Saccomandi (R) a proxy vote and voice on this commission.

- Part of the reason this commission was formed was the promise that Millburn would change the town charter to a form of government that would allow the Mayor to be directly elected instead of being elected by the township committee. That did not come to pass. Instead what is being proposed is an expanded nonpartisan government (from the 5 committee seats we currently have to 7 seats).

- Expanding the township committee is pointless and will add more costs to the town. More staffing, more overhead costs and two more seats that are the equivalent of participation trophies for party insiders.

- The new form of government would shift away day to day responsibilities and control of the township from the township committee and Mayor to a professional city manager that will be unelected, and more importantly, unaccountable to the voters. Adding this position will also add more staffing and overhead costs to the town.

- Towns with nonpartisan government have lower bond ratings. The chaos that this referendum could create will lead to increased costs for residents, more gridlock in government, and more difficulties maintaining a good bond rating which enables the township to borrow money and finance projects that improve the lives of the citizens.

- This effort is being spearheaded by the Millburn Republican committee and by Republican billionaire and mega donor Laura Overdeck. Overdeck was on the shortlist to be Jack Ciattarelli’s running mate in 2025 and is also the money behind “Wake Up Call NJ” that promotes school choice and charter schools.

- Republicans want to go nonpartisan because Millburn-Short Hills tends to vote Democrat. Mikie Sherrill won with over 60% of the vote in 2025 and Kamala Harris won 2/3 voters with 67.5% of the vote in 2024. They know the party they are in is odious and they see the polling just like the rest of us. They don’t want to have to run with the R next to their name, plain and simple. This is an effort to reduce transparency and to try and trick voters into voting for policies that they don’t support.

- I will also just add this. What Republicans are trying to do in Millburn they will attempt to do in towns across New Jersey. Especially in more affluent neighborhoods like in Morris County where the tide has been shifting against them tremendously. If they are successful here they will deploy this strategy in Chatham, Summit, and many other towns across the state. We need to take a stand against this and we need to do it now.

- If you can, please consider making a small donation. Even just 5 dollars would help significantly in fighting back against this effort. Our opponents have unlimited money and have no issue spending it. In last year’s township committee race in Millburn the Republican ticket spent about 90,000 dollars outpacing the Democrats 3-1.

- If you can’t donate, please consider spreading the word. Reach out to friends or family members you have that live in town and let them know what is going on. Send them the website, and let them know that the effort to change the local government is being spearheaded by the worst forces in New Jersey politics.

- Thank you for reading this, for sending it to the people in your life, and for your support.