TEANECK, N.J. — Nine candidates took the stage at Teaneck’s League of Women Voters forum. But every one of them put Hillary Goldberg in their spotlight.

Goldberg drew direct and indirect swipes from candidates across the field over some of the most politically charged issues in Teaneck, from her support for Israel after the Oct. 7 Hamas attack to her backing of a Holocaust memorial on the Municipal Green.

That may say something about where Goldberg sits in this year’s race. She was not simply another candidate answering questions. She was the candidate other candidates kept coming back to.

And Goldberg does not appear particularly interested in avoiding that role.

She has made clear that she is willing to be the sole voice, the loudest voice or the dissenting voice if she believes an issue matters. At the forum, she argued that voters should know where candidates stand and made clear that she intends to take positions rather than avoid political fights.

That approach has not always made for easy political alliances.

In the last election cycle, Goldberg ran alongside Denise Belcher. But after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack, Goldberg, Belcher and then-Deputy Mayor Danielle Gee found themselves on different sides of a heated fight over how Teaneck should respond.

Goldberg authored a resolution condemning Hamas and supporting Israel, stating that Teaneck stood with Israel and that Israel had a right to defend itself. The resolution passed unanimously.

Belcher and Gee authored a separate Peace and Unity resolution that recognized the suffering of civilians on both sides and called for a humanitarian solution. That resolution initially was held off, but it ultimately passed unanimously two weeks later.

The split was not as simple as one side supporting Israel and the other opposing it. Belcher and Gee ultimately voted for Goldberg’s resolution as well. But the competing resolutions exposed a sharp disagreement over how Teaneck should respond to the war and how the township should balance its support for Israel with concerns raised by its Muslim and Palestinian residents.

Goldberg has continued to speak publicly about Israel and antisemitism. At this year’s forum, that history followed her onto the stage.

Candidates questioned her positions and took aim at her support for the Hamas resolution and her support for the Holocaust memorial. Avi Berliner, running with Sharon L. Kolb and Amrit Ramjattan under the ONE TEAM ONE TEANECK slate, supported Goldberg during the exchange.

The Holocaust memorial has become another flashpoint.

Goldberg supports the memorial’s planned location on the Municipal Green. Several candidates argued that community-specific monuments do not belong on the Green, which they said should represent the entire town.

The projects were already approved for the site, however, and the two memorial efforts have historically operated with separate fundraising streams.

The Northern New Jersey Holocaust Memorial recently received a $100,000 donation, its largest reported gift to date, as the project moves toward construction. The Enslaved African Memorial Committee continues to seek donations to make its planned memorial a reality.

That creates an obvious question without answering it: Is the widening fundraising gap between the two projects part of what is driving the renewed opposition to having the memorials on the Green?

The candidates who opposed the monuments at the forum did not say that was their reason. Their stated objection was that community-specific monuments do not belong on a municipal space meant for all Teaneck residents.

Goldberg also took positions on the township budget. She said she would not cut operating services and pointed to a roughly $3.5 million opening deficit in the 2027 budget. She called for restoring a reserve that had been used for maternity leave costs, putting borrowing for tax bills back into the budget and limiting capital spending to items that are actually needed.

She also returned to one of her recurring themes: transparency.

Goldberg criticized the township’s handling of advisory boards, saying boards should be open to residents and that council liaisons should receive regular updates. She argued that residents should not have to jump through unnecessary hoops to participate in township government.

On development, Goldberg raised concerns about the scale and impact of the proposed Crossroads redevelopment at the Stop & Shop site. She questioned the amount of housing being contemplated, pushed for affordable housing and raised concerns about traffic and environmental impacts.

She also questioned environmental issues surrounding improvements at Votee Park.

Goldberg’s political style has been clear throughout the forum: take a position, explain it and be prepared to defend it even when it puts her at odds with other candidates.

This year, that has made her a target from multiple directions.

It also makes her difficult to ignore.

When candidates from across the field are taking swipes at the same person, the reader is left to draw the obvious conclusion: Goldberg is not just another name on the ballot. She is one of the central figures in the political fight now playing out over Teaneck’s future.

Nine candidates took the stage.

But everyone put Goldberg in their spotlight.