Jefferson Township Republican Primary
Save Jefferson
Fiscal Discipline. Accountability. Real Results.
"Jefferson Needs Us, We Need You."
⭐ Vote June 2nd ⭐
Fiscal Discipline. Accountability. Real Results.
"Jefferson Needs Us, We Need You."
"Our Township does not have a revenue problem, we have a spending problem."
Christian E. Barranco
The Save Jefferson team's 10-point plan to bring our local government in line with a sustainable future, so that we and our children can all live in a prosperous Jefferson Township.
It is the first step we will take to assess the full financial picture of our Township.
Immediately impose a cap on property tax increases while continuing to support and fund educators in the classroom. The current discretionary municipal budget, outside of education, is over $36 million. Beginning Day 1, every department head will document the work their staff perform for residents over two weeks so we can assess duplication and seek efficiencies, without needless waste.
We will use industry leading business technology to provide township resources and services more efficiently and with increased convenience to our community. This approach has proven successful in other northern NJ towns, and Jefferson deserves the same services, efficiently delivered.
All township purchases will be scrutinized, both for need and to ensure we are receiving the best prices that suppliers offer anywhere. Cutting expenses at the source will be our priority.
We will work for you. Every day. Unlike past administrations, we will publicize our Requests for Proposals (RFPs) in our meeting agendas and share itemized invoices and proposals so that each resident can easily see where every dollar goes. On Day One, we will reinstate the monthly Council workshop meetings as required by our Municipal Code.
We will pursue every federal, state, or county grant fund opportunity available to us. Christian's experience working alongside accomplished grant applicants in the Legislature gives us proven methods so our township benefits from these resources just like other towns that benefit far more than Jefferson does today.
At least quarterly, we will conduct town hall style meetings where residents and taxpayers can ask the Mayor and Council direct questions, continuing our commitment to transparency in how your town is being managed.
Commit to prioritizing improvements at Camp Jefferson for our youth and follow through on constructing a Teen Center at the Camp. The money has been included in the township budget for years, only to be dropped numerous times. Our teens deserve a safe and fun place to grow and socialize safely.
We will create and nurture partnerships with sporting and apparel organizations through sponsorships and talent outreach to ensure our schools can keep sports and extracurricular activities. We have brilliant athletes in this Town and our children deserve better.
As a State Assemblyman, Christian Barranco was very vocal in Trenton trying to crack the will of the majority Party that has consistently used the Highlands Act to minimize school aid to our suburbs. As a team, we will continue that fight together. Our present administration has not helped our cause: from 2020 to 2025 our ratable tax base increased by $79,267,340, an average of $15,853,468 per year through irregular assessments. This led to the Morris County Tax Board ordering an immediate Township-wide property revaluation. The ACME shopping center in Oak Ridge is also in a massive tax appeal with nearly half its commercial spaces vacant. No wonder we cannot attract commercial renters to our town.
Jefferson needs a change in leadership, desperately.
For the past 8 years our town has had taxes skyrocket and schools close. Residents are hurting, and the current administration has done nothing to help. These same people now claim they have a "new vision," but it is too little too late. It is time for someone with a real plan to take the reins and put our town back on track.
If you are fed up and want a change, vote on June 2nd to Save Jefferson!
Jefferson Township Council members Bob Birmingham, Barbie Garruto, and Dan Schultz have made the very crucial decision to endorse the Save Jefferson team for mayor and council in the June Republican primary.
The council members jointly stated: "After 14 months of having town employees told that they cannot contact us without the explicit permission of town hall and continued resistance to transparency in the Township's business dealings, it is time for Jefferson to vote for new leadership. Rising taxes and closing schools are crushing our community and our current leadership has sat back for the past 8 years and let it all happen. The present administration has lost our confidence and because of that we are proud to endorse the Save Jefferson team. Barranco, Brown and Santasieri are the real Republicans that we need in town hall and they have our full endorsement."
We are honored to have the endorsement of the 3 council members as they are on the frontlines fighting for Jefferson. We share their sentiment towards the current state of the town. Town hall has lost the confidence of the council and it is time for new leadership in Jefferson. On June 2nd vote for real Republicans, vote for Barranco, Brown, and Santasieri to save Jefferson!
Recent reporting in "Jefferson Township Under Scrutiny as Questions Go Unanswered" raised serious, documented questions about Eric F. Wilsusen's long-standing financial relationships with a township vendor, and about the township's refusal to release basic records that residents have every right to see. The Save Jefferson team, Christian Barranco, Sheila Brown, and Dottie Santasieri, believe those questions deserve straight answers.
According to filings with the Ocean County Clerk and the New Jersey Division of Revenue, Mayor Wilsusen, Police Chief Paul Castimore, and Atlantic Communications owner Gary Davieau jointly purchased property in Little Egg Harbor in 2006. In 2015, Eric Wilsusen was added, by amendment, to a company named PES LLC with the wives of Mr. Davieau and Chief Castimore. That company owned a commercial property at 664 Route 15 South, the same building where Atlantic Communications, a township vendor, operated as a tenant.
On March 23, 2026, an open public records request was filed for township invoices paid to Atlantic Communications from 2023 through 2026. The legal response deadline has now passed twice, and the records remain unreleased.
There may be reasonable explanations for each of these facts, and we welcome them. But the answer to a transparency question cannot be delayed any longer. We are calling on Eric Wilsusen to release every invoice, purchase order, and disclosure related to Atlantic Communications within seven days, and to recuse himself from any township decision involving a vendor in which he or his business partners hold a direct or indirect financial interest, per our municipal code. We are also urging the Township Council to authorize an independent review of contracts awarded to vendors connected to township officials over the past ten years.
This is not an isolated concern. It fits a broader pattern of how this administration communicates with residents. Eric has been posting campaign content on a Facebook page titled "Eric Wilsusen, Mayor of Jefferson Twp NJ," categorized by Facebook as a "Government Official" page and listing mayor@jeffersontownship.net as the contact, which is his official government email address. A line in the bio notes the page is "created & managed" by Eric Wilsusen personally, but the overall impression residents are meant to take away is that of an official government page. Paired with ignored records requests, that is not the conduct of an administration that trusts residents with the full picture.
These decisions do not only affect the Mayor. He has aligned himself publicly with a sitting state senator and several Morris County elected officials, and every unanswered records request and carefully worded communication puts their reputations on the line alongside his own. Those officials should ask themselves whether they want their names attached to a pattern of conduct that Jefferson residents are increasingly being asked to question.
Christian Barranco extends an open invitation to Mayor Wilsusen: meet face to face. Debate the record, the budget, the taxes, and the transparency of Jefferson Township in front of the voters who will decide this primary on June 2nd. Residents deserve to hear both candidates answer for their positions directly in public, on the record, and without fine print.
A Morris Focus letter to the editor questions the Jefferson Township administration's transparency, asking why meeting minutes have not been made available to the public in a timely manner.
Read More at Morris Focus →A Morris Focus letter to the editor responds to state and county elected officials choosing sides in the Jefferson Township Republican primary, raising questions about whether elected representatives are truly serving all of their constituents.
Read More at Morris Focus →Apparently, some elected officials who represent Jefferson don't feel that the residents can make their own decision on who we should vote for during a Republican Primary! It's been almost eight years since the voters of Jefferson have had choices and some higher elected officials have now decided to interrupt the process?
Exercising the right to vote is both a privilege and a civic responsibility, essential for maintaining a healthy democracy and ensuring that government remains responsive to the needs of the people.
Senator Bucco's decision to campaign for Eric Wilsusen raises a simple question: does he represent all of Jefferson Township, or just those already in office? A State Senator's role is to serve every constituent regardless of local political rivalries. By taking sides in this Primary, Senator Bucco is telling half of Jefferson that their voices don't matter.
The residents of Jefferson deserve better from their State Senator.
The New Jersey Globe covers Christian Barranco's entry into the Jefferson Township mayoral race, citing rising taxes and unchecked spending growth under the current administration.
Read More at NJ Globe →Watch the Save Jefferson campaign video featured on TAPinto Jefferson, covering the race for mayor and council in Jefferson Township.
Read More at TAPinto Jefferson →A Morris Focus letter to the editor takes aim at the Jefferson Township administration, arguing that recent actions by local officials have compounded the frustrations of residents already dealing with rising taxes and declining services.
Read More at Morris Focus →A Jefferson Township resident writes to the Morris Focus about the state of local government and the need for change in Jefferson Township.
Read More at Morris Focus →The Save Jefferson team is hitting every neighborhood, listening to residents, and sharing a message of fiscal accountability and real reform. This is what democracy looks like.
Whether you want to volunteer, host a yard sign, or simply stay informed, we want to hear from you. Jefferson's future depends on engaged residents like you.