Democratic incumbent Paul Gallo and his running mate, Susan Burke, have won the Democratic nomination for township committee in Cranford, beating back a challenge from Will Thilly, a gadfly who has gone viral on social media last year for breakdancing during a township committee meeting. Burke leads with 1,863 votes, followed by Gallo with 1,685 votes, followed by Thilly with 586 votes
Committeeman and former mayor Brian Andrews is not seeking re-election.
Challenging them will be two Republicans: Sam Prince, a marketing and technology operations leader; and Dennis Miller, a self-employed real estate internet marketer.
Cranford, like many other Union County train-station towns, was once reliably Republican and has since become reliably Democratic at the federal and state levels. Gov. Mikie Sherrill carried Cranford by over 15 points last year.
At the local level, Cranford voters know how to split their tickets and things can still prove to be competitive. In 2024, Gina Black was narrowly re-elected on the same ballot that opted for Kamala Harris by 20 points.
In 2023, Republicans nearly unseated Gallo when he was appointed to fill an unexpired term; Gallo held on by only 12 votes.