The campaign to recall Frelinghuysen Committeeman Kirk Perez has come to an end as proponents of the effort fell short of the required petition signatures by the Aug. 28 deadline.
Tensions have run high in Frelinghuysen during the past few years, driven particularly by the creation of a new fire department and the committee’s clearing of the way for a cannabis farm on Route 94. Both actions were taken by committee members who have since been rejected from office by voters.
“The recall effort concerning Committeeman Kirk J. Perez has now officially concluded,” said Robert Stock, one of the organizers of the recall campaign. “Although hundreds of Frelinghuysen residents signed the petition, the effort ultimately fell short of the number of signatures required to place the recall question before the voters.”
Stock was a committee member until last year when he was defeated in the 2025 primary election along with former committeeman Keith Ramos. Both were major proponents of the fire department.
In 2024, Perez scored a stunning victory in the June primary as a write-in candidate, largely on the cannabis farm issue, which he had vocally opposed when the application came before the township Land Use Board.
The committee has now had a complete turnover of all five seats since the fire department and cannabis issues began.
Perez, who is in the second year of a three-year term, also serves as mayor for 2026, which has so far been a very tumultuous year in local politics.
While stopping short of declaring victory, Perez said he was relieved the recall issue is off the table.
“This whole thing has been just a disgrace,” Perez said. “I believe that we deserve so much better. I know what the people of Frelinghuysen are capable of. And I know that what has gone on here is not a reflection of what we can be. My hope is that we’re going to do everything in our power as a committee, and I’m going to do everything in my power as a mayor to get us where I think we need to be.”
Both factions in the recall issue traded barbs, insults and threats—often anonymously—throughout the spring and summer. Accusations of stolen and vandalized lawn signs supporting the recall and supporting Perez permeated much of the discourse.
The reconstituted township committee in the past year has reversed the ordinances that changed zoning to allow for a cannabis farm. The applicant for the Route 94 site, One Faith Wellness, was approved by the Land Use Board, but the zoning reversal effectively revoked that approval, and One Faith has indicated it may sue the township for changing the rules during the process.
The fire department has come under scrutiny by the committee, which hired a consultant to examine its operations and funding. The Phoenix Group reported that maintaining the fire department could cost millions, including $6 million for a new firehouse. Critics of the report, however, pointed out that Phoenix used extreme examples as a scare tactic, noting that nobody on the fire department has asked for a new firehouse or equipment.
Ramos, who was mayor at the time of the department’s formation and a major proponent, said at the time that the fire department would have zero impact on taxpayers as its costs would be largely covered by redirecting the fees paid to neighboring towns for fire coverage to Frelinghuysen’s own department.
Joe brings decades of journalism experience to the Ridge View Echo, covering everything from local school boards to the U.S. Supreme Court. A former National Law Journal editor and Columbia Law School press officer, he now enjoys telling community stories in Blairstown, where he lives with his wife, Rose, and their two dachshunds.
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
- Joe Phalon, Contributing Writerhttps://ridgeviewecho.com/author/joe-phalon-contributing-writer/
