MONTVILLE - This town of 22,000 in northern Morris County is "on the map."

The political map that is.

That was the upbeat assessment of Shari Seffer, one of two Democratic candidates for township committee this year. Seffer and her running mate, Emily Ryzuk, officially kicked off their campaign Sunday evening at the Black Rabbit, a local watering hole.

The GOP incumbents are June Witty and Matthew Kayne.

All contested races are interesting to some extent. One feature here is that Morris County has become much more politically competitive than it was a generation ago. Dems are now winning races in places they could only have dreamed about years ago. See Morris Township, Mendham Township, and, of course, CD-11.

But not here. The township remains solidly Republican. For instance, Mikie Sherrill carried the county last year, but she lost Montville by a bit more than a thousand votes.

Nonetheless, Seffer told a crowd of about 50 that things are "different" this year.

She said the Democratic candidates already have visited about 300 unaffiliated voters.

And ...

"Excuse my French, but people are pissed off," she said.

We must pause here. Just about all candidates talk about getting good vibes when canvassing. I have yet to hear a candidate say, "You know, I went door to door the other day and the people hate me."

But there may be some substance here.

Development in suburban towns is always a big issue.

The township recently purchased at auction the old Condurso's garden center property on River Road and is cleaning it up. Future plans are uncertain, but Seffer said many in town do not trust the all-Republican committee to handle this project properly. She said transparency is a big problem.

In contrast, Witty's social media page says the committee is practicing transparency in regard to the Condurso's site and that residents will be given a chance to provide input.

Another development-related issue is the recent approval of an age-restricted project near Route 202.

The history here is intriguing. The board of adjustment approved the project, but the township committee sued. That's right. The committee sued the board of adjustment, members of which they appoint.

The litigation was settled, but essentially suing yourself may be seen as an unwise use of tax money, given the fact taxpayers underwrote the legal costs of both sides.

There is also the national mood that can't be ignored. With Donald Trump's approval ratings quite low nationally, it's easy to see why Dems are optimistic.

This would still be a heavy lift.

One thing Republicans have going for them is mail-in voting. That's not a joke

Both county and state Republican leaders have praised the township's recent vote by mail campaigns led by Christine Fano. This is significant because Republicans generally do poorly with mail in voting.

The Dems acknowledge this, but as they chatted with supporters, Seffer and Ryzuk contended many think their quality of life in the township is deteriorating.

The most successful township Democrat in recent vintage is Dan Grant, who served 15 years on the committee dating back more than 30 years. He won and lost numerous times.

Grant was in the house Sunday night and was introduced. A nice historical touch.