07/20/2026
A Message to Hampton Township Voters
I'm Ken Druse and I am running for Hampton Township Committee.
No Democrat has been elected to this Committee in at least 30 years. I want to break that status quo, because Hampton needs a different point of view and oversight on growth. The most recent example: a chain gas station and convenience store built within a seven-minute drive of two others — one from the same company — with little thought to scale, character, or the destruction of natural habitat. That's not careful planning; that's approving whatever comes along. I believe in development that asks what Hampton needs before asking where to build.
Something else is on the verge of being lost — the history, nature, and beauty of this place — one floodlight, one cleared lot, one unneeded business at a time. We know the danger spots — reckless street racing leaving black donut circles burned into the road, trucks modified to be as loud as possible day and night. I'll promote any affordable enforcement tools available — cameras, radar — and more dark-sky-friendly lighting and hours of operation. Everything that puts Hampton's rural character first, with resident input before projects are approved, not after.
Rt. 206 deserves the same scrutiny — not another dealership or franchise, but incentives for small business and agritourism.
I've stayed involved for years, usually from the background — including helping save the historic Twin Bridges on Route 626, which I named myself, a fact recorded on the marker itself. Commissioned in 1756 during the French and Indian War, the bridges are part of Hampton's history that the State once threatened to destroy. We fought back and made saving them official.
The Committee isn't the Planning Board — on land use, we can advocate but not make laws. Where we do have authority, we can set rules directly. The Planning Board has already required downlighting in commercial parking lots, but there's more we can do — like setting hours for when lights must be turned off, and addressing homeowner outdoor lighting left on around the clock, which disrupts bird migration and depletes the insects baby birds depend on for food.
There was a time when citizens weren't exactly welcome at local meetings. I was once forced to leave a planning board meeting. On another occasion, several residents were turned away from a meeting about accepting a grant from the Green Acres Program to save open lands — even though it had been billed as inviting anyone from the community. That committee ultimately turned down the grant because it would have blocked ballfields from being built on protected land, including wetlands and rocky ravines.
That's changed, and I want to keep it that way. If you have an issue or a suggestion, come to a meeting: last Tuesday of the month, 7:00 PM, Municipal Building, One Rumsey Way.
On November 3, 2026, I'm asking for your vote. Vote for change. Vote for thoughtful growth. Vote Ken Druse for Township Committee.
