Change Address

VOTE411 Voter Guide

Frenchtown Borough Common Council {_getChooseLabel(this.selections.length)}

Frenchtown is governed under the Borough form of New Jersey municipal government. 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 is comprised of 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 Frenchtown 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 Borough Council meets in Borough Hall, 29 Second Street at 7:30 p.m. every first Wednesday of the month.

Click a candidate icon to find more information about the candidate. To compare two candidates, click the "compare" button. To start over, click a candidate icon.

  • Candidate picture

    Jacob Caplan
    (Dem)

  • Candidate picture

    John Dougherty
    (Dem)

Biographical Information

What motivates you to run for this position? What personal and professional experiences have prepared you for this office?

What do you see as the top three priorities for the next municipal budget and how will you minimize any impact on taxes?

What limits, if any, should our municipality place on data-center development, and what conditions would you require for approval?

What limits should there be on business, residential and land development in our municipality? What plan for growth would you propose?

Involvement in Community Alternate Member of the Frenchtown Borough Planning Board and Member of the Frenchtown Democratic Committee
I am running because I believe public service should be about solving problems, giving people a voice, and delivering results.

As Director of Government Relations and Advocacy for ACCSES New Jersey, I have spent my career advocating for New Jerseyans with disabilities and working to make government more responsive to the people it serves. I work directly with legislators, members of Congress, state agencies, and community organizations to develop policy, build coalitions, and turn advocacy into action.

I have helped advance legislation, protect critical funding, testify before legislative committees, and bring advocates directly into the policymaking process. That experience has taught me how government works, how to build relationships across differences, and how persistence can produce meaningful results.

I want to bring that experience to public office and be a pragmatic, accessible, and results-oriented representative who listens to constituents and works every day to make their lives better.
My top three priorities would be infrastructure, responsible sewer management, and maintaining Frenchtown’s quality of life and unique character.

We need to invest in roads, drainage, stormwater, and other critical infrastructure while aggressively pursuing state and federal grants to reduce the burden on local taxpayers. We also need a long-term plan for the sewer system that anticipates maintenance and capital needs rather than relying on costly emergency repairs.

Finally, I would support targeted investments in our downtown, parks, and pedestrian infrastructure that strengthen Frenchtown’s economy, traffic safety, and quality of life.

To minimize tax impacts, I would prioritize spending wisely, expand shared services where practical, work to maintain strong reserves, pursue every available grant, and to carefully scrutinize contracts and capital projects for our town. I believe we should strive to look for alternative funding sources before investing taxpayer dollars. And when we do invest those funds, we must continue our longstanding commitment to transparency.
I am somewhat skeptical of data centers, particularly when corporations capture the benefits while residents absorb the costs through demands on infrastructure, water, energy, and public services. But I am not opposed to responsible development or bringing new ratepayers into Frenchtown.

Any proposal should be evaluated case-by-case and demonstrate a clear net benefit to the community. I would require the developer to pay its fair share of infrastructure and municipal costs, meet strong environmental, noise, and water-use standards, and enter into binding agreements protecting taxpayers from unexpected costs.

My principle is simple: development should pay for itself, benefit the community, and never leave taxpayers subsidizing a corporation’s private investment. We are a quiet river community with limited space for such a project. Frenchtown values its historic character and ensuring a strong local economy that is welcoming to the many visitors who come to our town. We must ensure any data center that seeks to come to Frenchtown meet the most stringent of requirements with the sentiments of our community.
Frenchtown should pursue thoughtful, sustainable growth that protects the character of our community while allowing appropriate economic development. I would support reasonable limits based on infrastructure capacity, environmental impacts, traffic, housing needs, and the scale of individual projects—not a blanket opposition to development.

My goal would be a balanced plan: preserve open space and historic character, encourage appropriate small-business and mixed-use development, explore housing opportunities where infrastructure can support it, and require larger projects to pay their fair share of any infrastructure or service costs they create. Development should strengthen Frenchtown’s tax base without overwhelming the community that makes our town so special.

I have no business or investment interests that would benefit from or be adversely affected by local development decisions. My only interest is making decisions that serve Frenchtown residents and taxpayers.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.
Candidate has not yet responded.