A New Jersey town council and the mayor of the town have unanimously decided to switch parties — from Democrat to Republican.

The town council of East Hanover, population 11,000, consists of Council President Frank DeMaio, Jr., Councilwoman Carolyn Jandoli and Councilmen Brian Brokaw, Sr. and Michael Martorelli. Along with  Mayor Joseph Pannullo — a Democrat who ousted Republican Mayor William Agnellino in 2007 — they will join the Republican Party, the New Jersey Globe reported.

“Municipal leaders have a responsibility to best represent their constituents, and it is our belief this change of party is in the best interest of the community,” Pannullo stated. “As the nastiness, rhetoric, and social media vitriol of national politics continues to infiltrate local governance, we collectively determined this was the best course of action to keep the focus on local issues impacting our community – combating the overburdening and unrealistic fair-share housing mandates, keeping taxes stable, enhancing our parks and investing in public safety needs to be our local priorities. Every decision my administration makes is about putting East Hanover first; this is no different.”

The five Democrats were reportedly convinced to change parties by Hanover Mayor Ace Gallagher, according to Morris County GOP Chair Laura Marie Ali.

“The entire Republican Party in Morris County is welcoming Mayor Pannullo and East Hanover’s four Council members to our family with open arms and great excitement,” Ali said.  “East Hanover is an exceptionally run town with great leadership.  It is clear we share the same values as Mayor Pannullo and his Council and we are so excited to have them be part of our Republican family.”

“Today’s complete party flip on the East Hanover Township Council – a first in New Jersey history – is an early signal of the Republicans’ growing momentum ahead of the critical November elections, Bob Hugin, chairman of the New Jersey Republican State Committee celebrated. “Voters know that any official running with a ‘D’ next to their name in our one-party control state is responsible for aiding and abetting the radical Phil Murphy agenda that is driving energy prices up and people out of their homes.

Senate Minority Whip Anthony M. Bucco called the Democrats’ switch “a major win for the Republican Party and shows how out of touch and extreme the Democrat party has become,” adding, “We welcome these well-respected local leaders to our party as we continue to expand our party’s reach.”

Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt, wife of Hollywood star Chris Pratt, defended her husband from criticism after he thanked her for giving birth to a “healthy daughter.”

In November 2021, Chris Pratt, married before to actress Anna Faris, who gave birth prematurely to their son Jack, now 10, thanked Schwarzenegger Pratt for her love for him. After his birth, Jack had to spend several weeks in the NICU before the hospital deemed him ready to go home.

“Guys. For real,” Pratt wrote on Instagram. “Look how she’s looking at me! I mean. Find you somebody that looks at you like that!! You know!? We met in church. She’s given me an amazing life, a gorgeous healthy daughter, she chews so loudly that sometimes i put in my ear buds to drown it out, but that’s love!”

“She helps me with everything,” he continued. “In return, periodically, I open a jar of pickles. That’s the trade. Her heart is pure and it belongs to me. My greatest treasure right next to my Ken Griffey Jr Upper Deck Rookie card. Which if you know, you know is saying a lot. It’s her birthday in about 6 weeks. So if I don’t get her anything, I’ll tell her to look back on this post. Love you honey.”

Speaking to Men’s Health, Pratt recalled the reaction from critics to his Instagram post: “And then a bunch of articles came out and said, ‘That’s so cringeworthy. I can’t believe Chris Pratt would thank her for a healthy daughter when his first child was born premature. That’s such a dig at his ex-wife.’ And I’m like, That is f***ed up. My son’s gonna read that one day. He’s nine. And it’s etched in digital stone.”

“It really f***ing bothered me, dude,” Pratt admitted. “I cried about it. I was like, I hate that these blessings in my life are—to the people close to me—a real burden.”

“You don’t ever wanna get caught complaining or anything,” he said. “’Cause I have so many blessings. I consider everything a blessing truly in my life.”

Katherine Schwarzenegger Pratt gave a simple summation of how wrong people were about her husband, telling The New York Times, “I see what people say. But I just know that it’s so far from the reality.”

Director James Gunn told Men’s Health, “It absolutely infuriates me. Chris is unspeakably kind to people; he goes out of his way to help kids. He’s an especially loving father. And there’s a lot of stuff that people have literally just made up about him—about his politics, about who he is, about what he believes of other people, you know?”