The mayor of East Hanover (New Jersey), Joseph Pannullo, announced that he had decided to switch his political affiliation from being a Democrat to the Republican Party and was able to convince the entire city council to do the same. As reported by the New Jersey Globe, Pannullo explained that he made this decision after considering that it was "in the best interest of the community." Along with the mayor, four other city council members changed: council president Frank DeMaio, and councilmen Brian Brokaw, Carolyn Jandoli and Michael Martorelli.
"As the nastiness, rhetoric, and social media vitriol of national politics continues to infiltrate local governance, we collectively determined this was the best course of action to keep the focus on local issues impacting our community (...) Every decision my administration makes is about putting East Hanover first; this is no different," he stated. The city, which has approximately 11,100 inhabitants, had been dominated by Democrats, but in recent state and national elections, support for Republicans has increased.
Surprise!
People in this small New Jersey suburb woke up to learn all their local elected officials had quit the Democratic Party to become Republicans. https://t.co/RfE1xa3gOV @wwesthoven @northjersey
— Christopher Maag (@Chris_Maag) February 9, 2023
The Republican party welcomed them
Morris County Republican Party Chairwoman Laura Marie Ali announced that she welcomed the news and welcomed both Pannullo and the other four East Hanover council members. "East Hanover is an exceptionally run town with great leadership. It is clear we share the same values as Mayor Pannullo and his Council and we are so excited to have them be part of our Republican family," she said.
Former East Hanover Councilwoman and Republican Town Chair Sue Tietjen also chose to voice her support for the new GOP members. "We will work together moving East Hanover forward," she said. Joseph Tempesta, Republican mayor of West Caldwell, spoke out and celebrated the mayor and council's change. "I want to commend Mayor Joseph Pannullo, along with Council President Frank DeMaio, Jr, Councilwoman Carolyn Jandoli, and Councilmen Brian Brokaw, Sr. and Michael Martorelli, for making a commonsense choice that will best serve their constituents going forward," he said.
