Local government South Hackensack 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 has 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 and another as Deputy Mayor. The Township Committee is composed entirely of residents from the main section of the township, although Garfield Park residents are active in the zoning and planning boards. While South Hackensack has its own police department serving all three portions of the township, the neighboring borough of
Wallington provides other emergency services for Garfield Park.
Federal, state and county representation South Hackensack is located in the 9th Congressional District and is part of New Jersey's 38th state legislative district.
Politics As of March 2011, there were a total of 1,300 registered voters in South Hackensack Township, of which 302 (23.2% vs. 31.7% countywide) were registered as
Democrats, 309 (23.8% vs. 21.1%) were registered as
Republicans and 688 (52.9% vs. 47.1%) were registered as
Unaffiliated. There was one voter registered to another party. Among the township's 2010 Census population, 54.7% (vs. 57.1% in Bergen County) were registered to vote, including 70.0% of those ages 18 and over (vs. 73.7% countywide). In the
2016 presidential election, Democrat
Hillary Clinton received 565 votes (53.0% vs. 54.2% countywide), ahead of Republican
Donald Trump with 473 votes (44.3% vs. 41.1%) and other candidates with 29 votes (2.7% vs. 4.6%), among the 1,094 ballots cast by the township's 1,484 registered voters, for a turnout of 73.7% (vs. 72.5% in Bergen County). In the
2012 presidential election, Democrat
Barack Obama received 551 votes (57.2% vs. 54.8% countywide), ahead of Republican
Mitt Romney with 389 votes (40.4% vs. 43.5%) and other candidates with 11 votes (1.1% vs. 0.9%), among the 963 ballots cast by the township's 1,368 registered voters, for a turnout of 70.4% (vs. 70.4% in Bergen County). In the
2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 541 votes (50.1% vs. 53.9% countywide), ahead of Republican
John McCain with 512 votes (47.5% vs. 44.5%) and other candidates with 12 votes (1.1% vs. 0.8%), among the 1,079 ballots cast by the township's 1,385 registered voters, for a turnout of 77.9% (vs. 76.8% in Bergen County). In the
2004 presidential election, Republican
George W. Bush received 499 votes (49.9% vs. 47.2% countywide), ahead of Democrat
John Kerry with 485 votes (48.5% vs. 51.7%) and other candidates with 8 votes (0.8% vs. 0.7%), among the 999 ballots cast by the township's 1,377 registered voters, for a turnout of 72.5% (vs. 76.9% in the whole county). In the
2013 gubernatorial election, Republican
Chris Christie received 56.2% of the vote (355 cast), ahead of Democrat
Barbara Buono with 37.7% (238 votes), and other candidates with 6.2% (39 votes), among the 653 ballots cast by the township's 1,343 registered voters (21 ballots were spoiled), for a turnout of 48.6%. In the
2009 gubernatorial election, Republican Chris Christie received 333 votes (43.6% vs. 45.8% countywide), ahead of Democrat
Jon Corzine with 329 votes (43.1% vs. 48.0%), Independent
Chris Daggett with 34 votes (4.5% vs. 4.7%) and other candidates with 5 votes (0.7% vs. 0.5%), among the 763 ballots cast by the township's 1,351 registered voters, yielding a 56.5% turnout (vs. 50.0% in the county). == Education ==