New Jersey
Gloucester Township voters to decide whether to sell sewer system
Rates would gradually increase by about $16 a year after five years. Any other rate increase would require approval from New Jersey’s Board of Public Utilities. New Jersey American Water would offer senior discounts, and assist customers struggling to pay their bills, McDonough said.
Still, some residents say they’re skeptical, and are encouraging neighbors to vote against the sale by handing out flyers outside the local ShopRite and assembling yard signs throughout town. Meanwhile, American Water has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on canvassing efforts, and advertisements.
Resident Dena Hendry said she doesn’t believe American Water won’t pass sale costs down to Gloucester Township residents.
“It’s money that I’d rather spend making memories, and doing things with my family. It’s an unnecessary cost,” she said. “And, everything is going up. The price of groceries is going up.”
Those who oppose the sale argue the town’s sewer system doesn’t need saving. Unlike other small towns that sold their water systems because of failures or contaminated drinking water, Gloucester Township’s sewer system is in decent shape, according to a 2023 engineering report.
Residents voice distrust in local leaders
Residents have become suspicious about the motivations behind the sale, as their mayor, David Mayer, is the director of government affairs for New Jersey American Water. Mayer has recused himself from the acquisition, however, and McDonough said the mayor has never been involved in any conversation about privatizing the town’s sewer system.
Residents also accuse township officials of being fiscally irresponsible, and say they don’t trust them to spend the proceeds wisely.
Gloucester Township’s business administrator, Tom Cardis, said the town’s debt was accrued because of necessary expenditures for road repairs, law enforcement and other infrastructure projects.
Cardis said not only would the sale pay off the debt, but it would also help the town reduce property taxes, and pay for improved recreational opportunities for residents.
“The proceeds of the sale are going towards helping the community at large,” he said. “It’s reducing taxes, and stabilizing taxes.”
If the referendum fails, the city may raise the sewer bills, Cardis said. The town’s utilities authority, which was dissolved last year, also had not raised rates since 2002. Though the sewer system isn’t currently failing, its future maintenance would require a significant investment, Cardis said.
Residents campaigning against the sale say they understand rates may rise if the referendum fails, but believe residents will have greater say in how the sewer system is operated.
“If our bills do [increase] there’s not a darn thing anybody can do about it,” Denise Coyne said about privatization. “It’s not like we could go purchase our sewer back. It’s gone forever.”
New Jersey
Election Day 2025 is underway in Pa. and N.J. Here’s what to know
Voters are heading to the polls across the U.S. on Tuesday to cast ballots in the 2025 general election.
Polls are open in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. Polls will close at 8 p.m. nationwide.
Reporters from WHYY News and Billy Penn are following each of the major campaigns — including the Pennsylvania Supreme Court retention votes, the race for Philadelphia district attorney, the New Jersey governor’s race and more.
As Election Day unfolds, follow the latest on WHYY.org, the WHYY App and WHYY-FM.
Here’s your voter game plan
Pennsylvania
New Jersey
New Jersey
Where the polling stands in Virginia, New Jersey, NYC and California
Polling is giving observers a clearer picture of what to expect on Election Day as voters cast their ballots.
Key elections in Virginia, New Jersey, New York City and California could hold big implications for what to expect in next year’s midterms.
Here’s what the polling tells us about Tuesday’s major races:
Virginia
Throughout Virginia’s gubernatorial campaign, former Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.) has maintained a solid lead over Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears (R). The latest Emerson College/The Hill survey, released Saturday, showed Spanberger leading Earle-Sears 55 percent to 44 percent. Spanberger improved her standing by 3 points in the poll, while Earle-Sears improved her standing by 2 points.
The polling average from The Hill’s partners at Decision Desk HQ has Spanberger up nearly 10 points over Earle-Sears.
However, the most closely watched race in the state this cycle is the attorney general contest. The race was always seen as one of the closer statewide races in Virginia, given Attorney General Jason Miyares’s status as an incumbent and fundraising advantage. Democratic nominee Jay Jones, however, still held a narrow lead over Miyares.
That all changed in early October when texts sent by Jones in 2022 surfaced in which he talked about inflicting violence on former state House Speaker Todd Gilbert (R). Jones apologized for the texts, but polls show the scandal has narrowed the Democrat’s chances at ousting the Republican attorney general.
The same Emerson College Polling/The Hill survey released Saturday shows Jones leading Miyares 49 percent to 47 percent, well within the poll’s 3.2 point margin of error. Meanwhile, a Roanoke College poll released last week showed Miyares with an 8-point lead over Jones.
New Jersey
Rep. Mikie Sherrill (D-N.J.) leads her Republican opponent Jack Ciattarelli, but the race is close enough that some Democrats are sweating.
The Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) polling average shows Sherrill leading Ciattarelli 50.1 percent to 45.5 percent. A Suffolk University poll released last week shows Sherrill with a 4-point lead, while an AtlasIntel poll also released last week showed Sherrill up 1 point over Ciattarelli.
The race comes a year after President Trump made notable gains in the blue-leaning state. Trump lost New Jersey to former Vice President Kamala Harris by just less than 6 points, a marked improvement from 2020 when he lost the state to former President Biden by nearly 16 points.
Ciattarelli also performed better than expected in his race against Gov. Phil Murphy (D) in 2021, losing by roughly 3 points.
New York City
Polls suggest Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani is well on his way to becoming mayor of New York City. Mamdani began the mayor’s race as a relatively unknown figure but has skyrocketed in stature following his surprise win in the Democratic primary.
Strategies to stop Mamdani’s support from growing have continuously been floated throughout the campaign. The city’s incumbent Mayor Eric Adams dropped his bid for reelection and eventually backed former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s independent bid. Republican Curtis Sliwa has also faced calls to drop his bid, with critics arguing that his presence in the race benefits Mamdani because he takes votes away from Cuomo.
Despite Cuomo’s high name ID and warnings about Mamdani’s far-left policy platform, Mamdani has only continued to consolidate support in the Democratic enclave. According to the DDHQ polling average, Mamdani leads the field with 44.6 percent, followed by Cuomo at 31.6 percent, and Sliwa at 18.6 percent.
However, Cuomo’s allies were somewhat heartened over the weekend when an AtlasIntel poll showed Cuomo appearing to close the gap with Mamdani. The poll showed Mamdani leading Cuomo 40.6 percent to 34 percent ahead of Election Day.
California
Proposition 50, the ballot measure backed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) that would establish new congressional district maps that temporarily override the state’s independent redistricting committee, appears to be on a glide path to passing. The measure would allow Newsom and the state’s Democrats to move forward with redistricting efforts ahead of next year’s midterms in an effort to counter Republican-led efforts in Texas.
The measure has gotten some pushback, including from former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R), but has proven to be widely popular in the state. An Emerson College Polling survey released last month found that 57 percent of likely voters in the state said they backed the measure while 37 percent said they did not support it. A separate CBS News/YouGov poll showed an even larger margin, with 62 percent of respondents saying they would vote yes on the measure and 38 percent saying they would vote no.
Newsom is so confident the measure will pass that last week he told supporters to stop donating to the effort.
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New Jersey
Sherrill, Ciattarelli make their final push for votes in the race for New Jersey governor
WEST NEW YORK, New Jersey (WABC) — It is down to the wire in the race to become the next governor of New Jersey.
Democratic candidate Mikie Sherrill campaigned in West New York on Sunday, shoring up support with Latinos.
“We have seen a great deal of enthusiasm across the state. It’s been really exciting, including events like this,” Sherrill said.
Some of that enthusiasm emanated from a major rally Saturday night with former President Barack Obama in Newark.
“The numbers in the vote by males in early voting look very, very good. And, you know, having President Obama here last night was kind of icing on the cake,” she said.
Turnout has been overwhelming. Between in-person early voting and mail-in ballots, nearly 1.2 million New Jerseyans have already cast their vote.
“At the end of the day, it’s all decided by the end of 8:00 on Tuesday. But we really like the numbers we see with regard to the VBS vote by mail ballots and the early voting,” Jack Ciattarelli, Republican Candidate NJ Governor, said.
Ciattarelli was joined by Congressman Mike Lawler in Middletown speaking with voters on Sunday.
“People are upset over eight years of Phil Murphy’s failed policies and the very strong impression that my opponent would just be more of the same, only worse,” Ciattarelli said.
He is also criss-crossing the state in a final push for votes.
“I hope the Democrats continue to make the same mistake over the next two days. They’ve been making for the past four months, talking all about Trump and blaming everything on Trump. The people in New Jersey are smarter than that. They want solutions. And that’s exactly what we’ve been giving them every day on the trail,” he argued.
Early voting is over. Polls open at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Election Day.
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