To understand the role of the Ewing Mayor, one must first understand the legal framework of the municipality. Ewing Township operates under the form of government within the Faulkner Act (OMCL, N.J.S.A. 40:69A-1 et seq.).
“He doesn’t have the charisma of a Christie or the fire of a Fulop,” says Micah Rasmussen, director of the Rebovich Institute for New Jersey Politics. “But in a small town like Ewing, charisma fades. Competence doesn’t. He’s turning Ewing from a pass-through town into a destination.”
This paper provides an overview of the executive leadership of Ewing Township, New Jersey. Under the Faulkner Act (Council-Manager form of government), the role of Mayor is largely ceremonial and legislative, with day-to-day administrative authority resting in the Township Administrator. However, the current administration, led by Mayor Bert H. Steinmann, has leveraged the office to drive significant policy changes in economic development, infrastructure, and community services. This document outlines the structural framework of the township’s government, profiles the current leadership, and analyzes the strategic initiatives defining the current political landscape in Ewing.
His first year was a trial by fire. Covid-19 shut down town hall. Tax revenues wobbled. And the GM site, after a developer’s bankruptcy, fell back into the township’s lap.
Recent budgets have funded full staffing for the police department and the addition of 21 new firefighters.