Investigation Opened Into Woodbridge Councilwoman After Ethics Complaint Filed

WOODBRIDGE, NJ — Update: Woodbridge Councilwoman McAuliffe responds to ethics complaint,says she stopped introducing ordinances she cannot vote on. (Sept. 19)

The Local Finance Board opened an investigation into Woodbridge Councilwoman Sharon McAuliffe after a complaint was made that she possibly violated local government ethics laws.

The complaint was made by John Vrtaric, chair of the Woodbridge Republican Party, and who also owns a hair salon and beauty supply store in town.

Vrtaric is backing Ken Gardner, running as a Republican this fall against McAuliffe, a Democrat. She asks voters to re-elect her to continue representing Woodbridge's First Ward, and Gardner is challenging her.

Vrtaric makes two complaints about McAuliffe: The first is that, at multiple Council meetings in the past year, McAuliffe introduced ordinances that could positively affect her business (Knot Just Bagels on Main Street in the heart of Woodbridge's Special Improvement District). She then abstained from voting on the ordinances, citing a conflict of interest.

Secondly, McAuliffe's bagel store provides bagels, pastries and other refreshments at Township events — another conflict of interest, he said. Woodbridge Twp. pays her business for this, but it is unknown how much it has paid her.

In June, the Local Finance Board said it intends "to conduct a thorough investigation of the allegations."

"When a council person has a conflict, they should stay completely away from the subject to avoid even the appearance of a conflict," said Vrtaric. "Secondly, if a council person owns a business, they should not be conducting business with the town they are elected to represent."

McAuliffe did not respond this week when Patch asked if she would like to comment for this article. She also did not answer when Patch asked exactly what kind of food and how much she supplies to Township events.

At the April 22 Woodbridge Council meeting, McAuliffe introduced a motion to give a second and third reading to an application for a long-term tax exemption with Mazza Urban Renewal, LLC. She then said she had a conflict of interest with the ordinance.

At that same meeting, McAuliffe introduced an ordinance to adopt and send the “Main Street Rehabilitation & Transit Village Plan" to the Woodbridge Planning Board. But again, she said she had a conflict of interest, and could not vote on it.

This was after she introduced both ordinances for a vote.

"Her actions could have influenced other Council members or misled the public. If she has identified her Main Street business as a conflict, how could she advocate for (the ordinances), which both impact her business?" Vrtaric wrote to Matthew Marthaler, a regulatory officer at the Local Finance Board.

"She doesn't know what she's doing," Gardner said this week. "She allows the mayor to control her. Not the people of Woodbridge."

Of the bagels she's giving the town, Vrtaric wrote in that same letter:

"At the Township Council meeting on June 3, 2025 Councilwoman McAuliffe admitted that the company she owns is providing services and/or refreshments to the Township of Woodbridge. Please investigate the extent to which this has occurred," he asked the Local Finance Board. "It would appear that she has done business with the Township before. How much business has she done with the Township since being appointed to the Council four years ago?"

"I believe it's unethical for her to be paid by the Township because she's a paid councilwoman," said Gardner.

McAuliffe was appointed by Mayor John McCormac to the First Ward seat in 2022. She ran for election to the seat later that year, when Vrtaric challenged her, and she won, 2,722 votes to 2,213 for Vrtaric, according to final vote counts from Middlesex County.

The Local Finance Board has made no determination whether or not McAuliffe did indeed violate local government ethics rules. When asked this week, a spokeswoman for the Local Finance Board said there is no change or update in the case since June.

"The only thing I have is a letter saying they are looking into it," Vrtaric said this week, when asked what the status is of his complaint. "It bothers me they let her do these things. You are not even supposed to give them a cup of coffee, for God's sake."

The Local Finance Board is part of New Jersey state government. Its job is to make sure local governments in the state follow the law and operate with fiscal responsibility.

The Woodbridge Council election will be Nov. 4.

Related: Who's Running For Woodbridge School Board, Town Council In 2025