The woman who lost a City Council election by a margin of 5,052 votes to 351, who was accused of using a municipal children’s account as a personal checkbook, and who later received a $130,000 taxpayer-funded job after voters rejected her, is now on the offensive.
The reason: Her name has surfaced in connection with the re-election campaign of Councilwoman Isabel Sousa, and she does not like the questions.
Denise Wilkerson, a former councilwoman-at-large who now serves as Roselle’s deputy municipal manager, executive director of the Roselle First Community Development Corp., and commissioner on the Linden Roselle Sewerage Authority, has responded forcefully across social media and public forums.
Asked directly whether she was serving as Sousa’s campaign manager, Wilkerson issued a flat denial.
“I am not!” she wrote.
The problem, critics noted, is that the denial appears to conflict with documents filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. An ELEC filing dated April 24, 2026, lists Denise Wilkerson as campaign treasurer for Sousa’s re-election bid. That is not a matter of opinion. It is part of the public record maintained by the independent state agency that oversees campaign finance reporting.
When Willingboro Mayor Chris Walker observed online that it seemed “a little odd that a borough employee would get so involved with a local election,” Wilkerson responded sharply.
“It is a little odd that a non-Roselle resident would get so involved with a local Roselle election!” she wrote. “Get off my page with that, Chris!”
The exchange drew further attention when Wilkerson’s daughter, Imani Bryant, jumped into the argument, claiming that critics continue “running her name in every post and conversation” instead of discussing positive developments in the borough.
But Wilkerson has plenty of critics, and they often point to her long record of financial and political controversies that have trailed her tenure in local government.
In 2025, Wilkerson ran for re-election as councilwoman-at-large. She lost decisively. Union County election results show Democratic nominee Cynthia Johnson receiving 5,052 votes, or 93.5% of the total. Wilkerson, running a write-in campaign after a court ruling removed her from the Democratic line, received 351 votes, or 6.5%.
Despite the defeat, Mayor Donald Shaw later appointed Wilkerson to a dual role as deputy municipal manager and executive director of the Roselle First Community Development Corp. The salary for the position is $130,000 annually. Shaw previously performed the duties tied to the community development role without additional compensation.
The appointment came as Roselle residents continued facing property tax bills exceeding $10,000 on average, while the broader economy showed signs of slowing growth.
Wilkerson’s qualifications for the position include leadership of a public relations firm called Robert Scott, which lists an address in Jersey City that corresponds to the campus of New Jersey City University. No public directory for the campus appears to list the company.
Then there is the dispute surrounding the Children’s Trust Fund.
Wilkerson has publicly stated that “there is no municipal children’s trust.” However, a report published in 2023 cited former Mayor Christine Dansereau raising concerns about how donations associated with the fund were handled.
“Wilkerson got a donation which they put under the Children’s Trust Fund, and then she had it withdrawn,” Dansereau said. “She used it for whatever, I don’t know.”
The Children’s Trust Fund is a municipal account, and expenditures typically require approval by the governing body. Former officials and sources familiar with borough operations alleged that donations were deposited and later used for field trips and other expenses without full council authorization.
One former council member, speaking anonymously, described the situation as “financial chicanery” and criticized Wilkerson’s handling of financial matters.
Roselle’s administrative structure has also experienced significant turnover in recent years. The business administrator’s office has cycled through multiple officials, including David Brown II, Rick Smiley, Jack Layne, Everett Falt, Shanel Robinson, and T. Missy Balmir.
The current acting borough administrator is Fire Chief Christopher Laba, a Republican who lives in Ocean County. Borough attorney Mohamed Jalloh was later replaced by Charles R.G. Simmons.
Wilkerson was described as an instigator who cost those government professionals their jobs for political purposes.
The Roselle First Community Development Corp. itself is a relatively small nonprofit. Its most recent federal tax filings reported gross receipts of less than $50,000 annually. The organization’s principal officer is listed as financial adviser David Biunno.
Yet the organization is now tied to a position paying Wilkerson $130,000 per year, a figure critics say appears inconsistent with the nonprofit’s reported size and previous compensation practices.
Public-facing community development work in the area has often been associated with Pastor Pamela Jones of Communities in Cooperation Inc., which operates similar programs in neighboring Linden.
Questions also have emerged over borough contracts approved during Roselle’s reorganization meeting, which former Councilwoman Sylvia Turnage described as “the Roselle government coup d’état.”
At that meeting, officials approved a $9,000 contract for a company called Fourth and Locust LLC. When Councilwoman Cynthia Johnson asked what the contract covered, no immediate explanation was provided during the meeting.
Public records later identified the LLC as being owned by Niyala Shaw, the mayor’s daughter, with a listed address in Elizabeth. Councilman Brandon Bernier voted against the contract, while the remaining council members approved it.
The same Elizabeth property is also listed in records connected to a home purchase by Mayor Shaw and his wife for $649,000, identified in mortgage documents as their principal residence.
Roselle’s municipal code requires the mayor to maintain residency within the borough. No law enforcement agency has publicly pursued the matter.
Wilkerson, meanwhile, continues to champion youth initiatives and redevelopment efforts. During her 2025 campaign, her website described her as a “corporate strategist turned civic leader” who helped hold taxes flat for six years, supported construction of a $17 million library, expanded youth programs and advanced redevelopment projects.
Voters ultimately rejected her candidacy by a wide margin.
Yet Wilkerson remains a central figure in borough politics, serving in a six-figure public position while acting as treasurer for a council campaign and disputing suggestions that she plays a larger political role.
The broader question facing Roselle residents is whether the borough’s overlapping political controversies, appointments and financial questions reflect deeper structural problems in local government.
The numbers themselves remain stark: 5,052 votes to 351. A $130,000 public salary. A $9,000 contract was awarded to the mayor’s daughter’s company. Allegations surrounding a municipal children’s fund. Questions about residency and campaign activity.
In Roselle, the political battles continue. But for many residents, the issue is no longer simply personalities or campaigns. It is whether public trust in local government can withstand another cycle of controversy.
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