Democrats vs. Yaede’s slate in Hamilton council race
HAMILTON » At least one new member will be elected to Hamilton Council in Tuesday’s general election, and voters will decide whether it is a Democrat or Republican.
With incumbent GOP Councilman Dave Kenny not seeking re-election this year, his seat is up for grabs at a time when GOP Council President Dennis Pone is running for a fourth term while appointed Councilwoman Dina Thornton is seeking to get rightfully elected onto the governing body as a Republican.
Pone and Thornton are running together on a slate with Republican council candidate Gino Melone, a relatively new Hamilton resident who formerly served as a Trenton councilman.
On the Democratic side, military man Jeff Martin, businessman Rick Tighe and financial guru Anthony Carabelli Jr. are asking the voters to sweep them into office as a slate. If the three of them are victorious, it would reshape Hamilton’s municipal government by giving Democrats majority power on the town council.
The five members currently serving on Hamilton Council are all Republicans, and the township has a Republican mayor in Kelly Yaede, who is not on the ballot this year.
Yaede, however, is playing a big role in campaigning for Pone, Thornton and Melone, and the Republican slate is happily campaigning under the umbrella of Team Yaede. One of the big campaign points on the Republican side is a promise to continue delivering the lowest property taxes in Mercer County.
“As Mayor, to help continue to deliver the lowest property taxes in the county, I need my team of Councilman Dennis Pone, Councilwoman Dina Thornton and former Councilman Gino Melone on Council to work with me in a constructive manner,” Yaede said last month in a campaign press release.
Pone, who runs a private business in addition to his public service, has not always agreed with the mayor — last year he voted for a 1.5 percent increase on Hamilton’s municipal tax levy against Yaede’s recommendation — but both of them saw eye-toeye on this year’s municipal budget that held the line on taxes.
The township under Republican leadership has maintained a stellar AA credit rating from Standard & Poor’s due to sound fiscal management and Hamilton residents have collectively saved over $500,000 on their electric bills during the first four months of the town’s new energy aggregation program.
In a joint statement, Pone, Thornton and Melone said: “Our goal is to work every single day to keep taxes as low as possible for our hardworking taxpayers, while maintaining our community’s high quality of life. We will work constructively and collaboratively with Mayor Yaede to keep taxes stable and to help Hamilton Township continue moving forward in the right direction.”
Pone was first elected to Hamilton Council in 2005 and has consistently won re-election; Thornton was appointed to Hamilton Council in March after failing to get re-elected to the township’s Board of Education in 2016; Melone served as an at-large Trenton councilman from 1994 to 2002 and then as Trenton’s East Ward council rep from 2002 till 2010 and has been a longtime civic leader and public servant for the region.
The Democrats
Barbara Plumeri, chairwoman of the Hamilton Democratic Committee, has described the Democratic slate of Martin, Tighe and Carabelli as being “a trio of experienced professionals who have demonstrated their commitment to their community by stepping up to run for office.”
Carabelli, whose namesake father formerly served as a longtime Mercer County freeholder, is the business advocate for the Mercer County Office of Economic Development and Sustainability. In this capacity, he manages several county business programs, including the Mercer County Loan Fund, site selection services, the Mercer County Foreign Trade Zone and the Mercer County business training program, according to information posted on his Facebook campaign page.
Martin works as an attorney for Farmers Insurance Group, where he has been for the last four years. Prior to working at Farmers Insurance, Martin was a captain in the U.S. Air Force, in the Judge Advocate General or JAG Corps. He was stationed at Royal Air Force Mildenhall and Royal Air Force Lakenheath, both in England, for his entire military career, according to his Facebook campaign page.
Tighe is an investment professional for the past 16 years and is the owner of Tighe Wealth Management. He has previously worked as a vice president for investments for banks like J.P. Morgan and Wells Fargo, according to his Facebook campaign page.
“We believe Hamilton needs a change in the way its government serves its citizens and we are bringing a positive change to Hamilton,” Martin, Tighe and Carabelli said in a statement posted on their Facebook campaign page.
The Democratic slate for the most part has run a lowkey, positive campaign, but the Democrats made headlines in a big way this fall when the Hamilton FMBA firefighter unions endorsed Carabelli, Martin and Tighe for Hamilton Council.
Although it has become a political issue, there is bipartisan agreement from Democrats and Republicans that Hamilton Township could greatly benefit from properly consolidating Hamilton’s big-government, disjointed fire service into something more efficient and effective. The township’s fire service currently comprises nine autonomous fire districts that are each governed by five commissioners who all collect taxpayer-funded salaries.
The top-three vote-getters in the Hamilton Council election will each be sworn into office on Jan. 1, 2018, to a fouryear term.