Local government Barrington is governed under the
borough form of New Jersey municipal government, which is used in 218 municipalities (of the 564) statewide, making it the most common form of government in New Jersey. The governing body is comprised of a mayor and a borough council, with all positions elected
at-large on a partisan basis as part of the November general election. A mayor is elected directly by the voters to a four-year term of office. The borough council includes six members elected to serve three-year terms on a staggered basis, with two seats coming up for election each year in a three-year cycle. The borough form of government used by Barrington is a "
weak mayor / strong council" government in which council members act as the legislative body with the mayor presiding at meetings and voting only in the event of a tie. The mayor can
veto ordinances subject to an
override by a two-thirds majority vote of the council. The mayor makes committee and liaison assignments for council members, and most appointments are made by the mayor with the advice and consent of the council. , the
mayor of the Borough of Barrington is
Democrat Kyle Hanson, whose term of office ends December 31, 2027. Members of the Borough Council are Council President Michael L. Beach (D, 2028), Vincent Cerrito (D, 2026), Michael Drumm (D, 2024), Shawn Ludwig (D, 2024), Melanie Mercado-Miller (D, 2026) and Alisha VanBernum (D, 2028). Wayne Robenolt was elected to fill the vacant seat of Harry Vincent, who died in January 2012.
Federal, state and county representation Barrington is located in the 1st Congressional district and is part of New Jersey's 5th state legislative district.
Politics As of March 2011, there were a total of 4,823 registered voters in Barrington, of which 1,826 (37.9% vs. 31.7% countywide) were registered as
Democrats, 860 (17.8% vs. 21.1%) were registered as
Republicans and 2,132 (44.2% vs. 47.1%) were registered as
Unaffiliated. There were 5 voters registered as
Libertarians or
Greens. Among the borough's 2010 Census population, 69.1% (vs. 57.1% in Camden County) were registered to vote, including 87.2% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 73.7% countywide). In the
2012 presidential election, Democrat
Barack Obama received 2,015 votes (59.3% vs. 54.8% countywide), ahead of Republican
Mitt Romney with 1,310 votes (38.6% vs. 43.5%) and other candidates with 42 votes (1.2% vs. 0.9%), among the 3,398 ballots cast by the borough's 5,155 registered voters, for a turnout of 65.9% (vs. 70.4% in Camden County). In the
2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 2,079 votes (57.8% vs. 66.2% countywide), ahead of Republican
John McCain with 1,396 votes (38.8% vs. 30.7%) and other candidates with 60 votes (1.7% vs. 1.1%), among the 3,599 ballots cast by the borough's 4,936 registered voters, for a turnout of 72.9% (vs. 71.4% in Camden County). In the
2004 presidential election, Democrat
John Kerry received 2,036 votes (56.8% vs. 61.7% countywide), ahead of Republican
George W. Bush with 1,503 votes (42.0% vs. 36.4%) and other candidates with 27 votes (0.8% vs. 0.8%), among the 3,582 ballots cast by the borough's 4,679 registered voters, for a turnout of 76.6% (vs. 71.3% in the whole county). In the
2013 gubernatorial election, Republican
Chris Christie received 62.2% of the vote (1,147 cast), ahead of Democrat
Barbara Buono with 35.4% (653 votes), and other candidates with 2.4% (45 votes), among the 1,904 ballots cast by the borough's 5,094 registered voters (59 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 37.4%. In the
2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 998 votes (47.1% vs. 38.5% countywide), ahead of Democrat
Jon Corzine with 929 votes (43.8% vs. 53.8%), Independent
Chris Daggett with 130 votes (6.1% vs. 4.5%) and other candidates with 35 votes (1.7% vs. 1.1%), among the 2,119 ballots cast by the borough's 4,703 registered voters, yielding a 45.1% turnout (vs. 40.8% in the county). ==Education==