A Democratic Organization-backed slate of Sophia Hull and Nicholas Eck, who served as interim mayor in 2011, have won a three-way race for two council seats in Chatham Borough, beating out a challenge from retired executive David Andreasen. Hull leads with 712 votes followed by Eck with 613 votes, Andreasen is third with 220 votes.
The fight was over two open seats, currently held by Democrats, after incumbents Brian Hargrove and Justin Strickland chose not to seek re-election. Strickland challenged Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-Glen Ridge) in today’s Democratic primary.
Unless a Republican gets enough write-in votes to capture the GOP nod for the second seat, either Hull or Eck will be assured a win. They will face Joseph Barrette, who was the only Republican to file for the general election.
This is Barrette’s second attempt to get elected to Chatham Borough Council. Last year, Barrette lost another three-way race between him and Democrats Karen Koronkiewics and Miles Gilmore.
At the federal level, Chatham Borough has become a Democratic stronghold, backing Kamala Harris by 24 points against Donald Trump in 2024.
In 2025, Gov. Mikie Sherrill carried Chatham Borough by nearly 20 points in her race against Jack Ciattarelli.
In the race for state assembly, Democrats Andrew Macurdy (2,530) and Vincent Kearney (2,459) won Chatham Borough over Republican incumbents Michele Matsikoudis (1,895) and Nancy Munoz (1,888). Republicans will likely need to, at the very least, shrink that margin of loss in order to have a chance at reclaiming those seats in 2027.
Hall is an environmental planner for Hudson County, and Eck is a member of the borough’s environmental commission.