Local government Hampton Township is governed under the
Township form of New Jersey municipal government, one of 141 municipalities (of the 564) statewide that use this form, the second-most commonly used form of government in the state. The Township Committee is comprised of five members, who are elected directly by the voters
at-large in partisan elections to serve three-year terms of office on a staggered basis, with either one or two seats coming up for election each year as part of the November general election in a three-year cycle. At an annual reorganization meeting, the Township Committee selects one of its members to serve as Mayor. , members of the Hampton Township Committee are
Mayor Timothy S. Dooley (
R, term on committee and as mayor ends December 31, 2024), David S. Hansen (R, 2026), Eileen Klose (R, 2025), Ed Ramm (R, 2024) and Philip L. Yetter (R, 2026). In January 2015, the township committee selected Scott MacKenzie to fill the vacant seat of Keith Gourlay expiring in December 2016. MacKenzie served on an interim basis until the November 2015 general election, when he was elected to serve the one year remaining on the term of office, while Keith Gourlay—who had left office earlier—was elected to a term expiring in December 2018. The township passed an ordinance that prohibits short-term rentals below 150 days as of May 2021, targeting people using companies such as
Airbnb.
Federal, state and county representation Hampton Township is located in the 5th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 24th state legislative district.
Politics As of March 2011, there were a total of 3,600 registered voters in Hampton Township, of which 615 (17.1% vs. 16.5% countywide) were registered as
Democrats, 1,565 (43.5% vs. 39.3%) were registered as
Republicans and 1,418 (39.4% vs. 44.1%) were registered as
Unaffiliated. There were 2 voters registered as either
Libertarians or
Greens. Among the township's 2010 Census population, 69.3% (vs. 65.8% in Sussex County) were registered to vote, including 87.7% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 86.5% countywide). In the
2012 presidential election, Republican
Mitt Romney received 1,479 votes (58.3% vs. 59.4% countywide), ahead of Democrat
Barack Obama with 989 votes (39.0% vs. 38.2%) and other candidates with 55 votes (2.2% vs. 2.1%), among the 2,535 ballots cast by the township's 3,676 registered voters, for a turnout of 69.0% (vs. 68.3% in Sussex County). In the
2008 presidential election, Republican
John McCain received 1,636 votes (58.3% vs. 59.2% countywide), ahead of Democrat
Barack Obama with 1,109 votes (39.6% vs. 38.7%) and other candidates with 32 votes (1.1% vs. 1.5%), among the 2,804 ballots cast by the township's 3,517 registered voters, for a turnout of 79.7% (vs. 76.9% in Sussex County). In the
2004 presidential election, Republican
George W. Bush received 1,641 votes (63.6% vs. 63.9% countywide), ahead of Democrat
John Kerry with 887 votes (34.4% vs. 34.4%) and other candidates with 45 votes (1.7% vs. 1.3%), among the 2,579 ballots cast by the township's 3,257 registered voters, for a turnout of 79.2% (vs. 77.7% in the whole county). In the
2013 gubernatorial election, Republican
Chris Christie received 71.7% of the vote (1,100 cast), ahead of Democrat
Barbara Buono with 25.1% (385 votes), and other candidates with 3.3% (50 votes), among the 1,550 ballots cast by the township's 3,684 registered voters (15 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 42.1%. In the
2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 1,226 votes (61.9% vs. 63.3% countywide), ahead of Democrat
Jon Corzine with 538 votes (27.1% vs. 25.7%), Independent
Chris Daggett with 184 votes (9.3% vs. 9.1%) and other candidates with 21 votes (1.1% vs. 1.3%), among the 1,982 ballots cast by the township's 3,547 registered voters, yielding a 55.9% turnout (vs. 52.3% in the county). == Education ==