Carty ally faces residency challenge in Mt. Holly council race

Eric Johnson, an ally of controversial former Mount Holly Fire Director Jason Carty, is facing a residency challenge that could threaten his place on the November ballot.

Carty was recently ousted as fire director and is facing criminal charges for election fraud and domestic violence.  Johnson’s running mate is former Plainfield Mayor Mark Fury, who represents Carty in his criminal prosecutions.

Johnson and Fury are challenging incumbents Tara Astor and Kimberly Burkus in the November 3 nonpartisan election.

Jim Logue, chairman of the Mount Holly Republican Committee, and Fredric Samson, chairman of the township’s Democratic Committee, filed the challenge Thursday in Burlington County Superior Court.  They argue that Johnson did not live in Mount Holly for the full year required to run for municipal office.

According to court papers, Johnson voted in Trenton during the November 2025 general election while registered at 207 Clay Street in Mercer County.  His voter record shows that he changed his address to 21 Garden Street in Mount Holly on January 13, 2026. At the same time, he changed his registration from unaffiliated to Democratic.

State law requires a candidate for local office to be registered to vote in the municipality and to have lived there for at least one year immediately before the election.  The challenge argues that Johnson needed to have established Mount Holly residency by November 2, 2025, at the latest.

Even if Johnson moved to Mount Holly immediately after voting in Trenton on November 4, 2025, the filing says, he still would not meet the one-year requirement.  His voter history shows that he voted in Trenton in 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, and 2025.  He voted in Mount Holly in 2024 but later changed his address back to Trenton, according to the filing.

Johnson signed a statement declaring that he met all qualifications to run for council. The challenge contends that the statement was inaccurate and asks the court to remove his name from the ballot.

The filing also seeks to prevent Burlington County Clerk Joanne Schwartz and Mount Holly Clerk Sherry Marnell from distributing ballots that include Johnson’s name while the dispute is pending.   The county is scheduled to begin mailing mail-in ballots on September 19, and sample ballots must be sent by October 21.

Judge Aimee Belgard, a former Burlington County freeholder, signed an order Thursday directing that the matter proceed on an expedited basis. Judge Terrence Cook will hear the case on September 10 at 2:30 PM.  The hearing will be livestreamed for the public by the New Jersey judiciary.