Nine Hopewell Township residents are seeking five seats on a proposed Charter Study Commission that would examine the township’s current form of government and consider possible alternatives.
The candidates are Chad Goerner, Francis Guenther, Stephen Klopfer, Michael Markulec, Tamera Matteo, Christopher Pazdan, Grace Elizabeth Rarich, Melanie R. Walter and Joshua J. Wilson.
The commission will only be created if voters approve a separate referendum on the Tuesday, Nov. 3, general election ballot. If the referendum passes, the five commission candidates receiving the most votes will be elected. If it fails, no commission will be formed.
Vanessa Sandom had also qualified for the ballot but withdrew from the race in late August, leaving nine candidates seeking the five possible seats.
The referendum asks voters whether a Charter Study Commission should be elected to study Hopewell Township’s existing charter and consider either a new charter or improvements to the current form of government.
The Township Committee voted in May to put the question before voters. The proposed commission would operate independently of the Township Committee under New Jersey’s Optional Municipal Charter Law, commonly known as the Faulkner Act.
If established, the five-member commission would examine the township’s current form of government, study other forms available under state law and solicit public input before making recommendations.
The commission would have up to nine months to complete its work. It could recommend retaining the township’s existing government structure or propose a different form of government. Any recommendation requiring voter approval would have to return to the ballot in a future election.
The Nov. 3 referendum itself would not change Hopewell Township’s form of government. It would authorize the study and determine which five residents would conduct it.
Hopewell Township currently operates under the township committee form of government. Five Township Committee members are elected by voters, and the committee selects one of its members each year to serve as mayor.
The field of commission candidates was finalized following an August court challenge involving five of the candidates.
Markulec, Sandom and Klopfer filed suit seeking to remove Pazdan, Wilson, Walter, Guenther and Rarich from the ballot over alleged deficiencies in their nominating petitions.
Superior Court Judge William Anklowitz rejected the challenge Aug. 28, ruling that problems with the petitions could be corrected and did not amount to fraud. The decision allowed all five challenged candidates to remain on the ballot.
Sandom later withdrew from the race for reasons unrelated to the court ruling.
Goerner, Klopfer, Markulec and Matteo are running as part of the Chart New Course group. Sandom had also been part of that group before withdrawing.
The charter study vote is separate from another review of township government already underway.
Hopewell Township received a $60,000 state Management Enhancement Review Program grant for an independent professional review of municipal operations and governance.
Township officials have described that review and the proposed Charter Study Commission as separate efforts. The professional review is being conducted through the state program, while the charter commission, if approved by voters, would be composed of elected township residents and focus specifically on the municipality’s form of government.
The Charter Study Commission would hold public meetings, gather information from residents and officials and examine how other forms of municipal government operate before issuing its findings.
Under the Faulkner Act process, a commission may study the existing government structure as well as alternative forms permitted under state law before deciding what, if any, changes to recommend.
The nine commission candidates will appear on the same Nov. 3 ballot as the referendum question. Voters may select up to five candidates.
If voters approve the referendum, the five highest vote-getters will become the commission and begin the study process. If voters reject it, Hopewell Township will continue under its current form of government and no Charter Study Commission will take office.
