She grew animated describing a municipal government operating on “bankers’ hours,” and added, “Bankers don’t even use bankers’ hours anymore. ”

“If you want to do something for your house, you have to take a day off work to go to City Hall and pull a permit,” she said. “That’s insane.”

Her arguments tapped into a growing sense around this town of 4,000 that City Hall needed a shake-up. The municipal concerns on the minds of many residents during the mayoral campaign may not have been as large in scope as national issues, like immigration or trade wars, but they pushed people to the polls.

“I told Julia like how hard it was to get a third bin for composting,” said Lauren Kiernan, 29, who owns a flower shop downtown. “Obviously, I create a lot of green garbage and I applied like three different times. I never heard back. They lost my checks. They lost my forms. Even trying to talk to them about issues like parking, I just never heard back. It was just like, everything I said to the city just went into the garbage bin.”

Of course, not everyone was eager to ruffle the carefully manicured vibe of this Democratic enclave, which lies along the border with Pennsylvania and is surrounded by a heavily Republican rural area. For years, Lambertville has been a refuge for many state government employees. Often referred to as “Georgetown on the Delaware,” many power brokers manipulating the levers of state government retreat 16 miles up Route 29 to sip complex cocktails at the Boat House or the many other bars and restaurants in town.

But the population has been shifting. A younger generation who wants some of the spoils of urban life — like a walkable downtown, trendy places to eat and crafty cocktail bars — but also seeks the tranquillity and relative affordability of the suburbs has begun to transform Lambertville.