According to the Daily Record, the entire East Hanover town council, as well as Mayor Joseph Pannullo, who has held the job since 2007, have changed their party affiliations from Democrat to Republican.
Mayor Pannullo stated, “Municipal leaders have a responsibility to best represent their constituents, and it is our belief this change of party is in the best interest of the community.” He added, “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.”
Morris County Democratic Chair Amalia Duarte expressed her disappointment with the move and stated:
“But, the real story is that Morris County is rapidly trending more Democratic, as we saw in the last election cycle. We won new municipal seats, flipped Morris Township to entirely Democratic and all of our incumbents were reelected, including in East Hanover,”
On the other hand, Morris County Republican Committee Chair Laura Ali welcomed the switch, saying: “The entire Republican Party in Morris County is welcoming Mayor Pannullo and East Hanover’s four council members to our family with open arms and great excitement!” she said. “East Hanover is an exceptionally run town with great leadership. It is clear we share the same values as Mayor Panullo and his Council and we are so excited to have them be part of our Republican family.”
Entire NJ Town Council, Mayor Switch From Democrats To Republicans https://t.co/D9JuE8v4w7
— GOP (@GOP) February 10, 2023
Will anyone be surprised if this starts happening in other states?
