Martino Cartier, the 51-year-old celebrity stylist who built a following on reality television before founding a cancer charity, is now running for Gloucester County commissioner as a Republican — and his campaign has become a lightning rod for scrutiny over his nonprofit's finances and a long-running zoning dispute with his home township. Cartier lives in the Sewell section of Washington Township, New Jersey, and is one of three Republicans seeking to unseat the county's three incumbent Democratic commissioners this election.
Cartier is running alongside Katherine Falcone and Barbara McCormick, and Gloucester County voters will pick three commissioner candidates on the ballot, according to wpst.com. Their campaign has centered on taxes, government spending and transparency, and the way county government conducts the public's business, the outlet reported. Standing in their way are incumbent Democratic commissioners Jim Jefferson, Joann Gattinelli and Matthew Weng, all of whom are seeking reelection, as reported by the Philadelphia Inquirer.
From Reality TV Debt to a Cancer Charity
Cartier's public profile traces back to 2008, when his salon was featured on Tabatha's Salon Takeover. During that episode, he told stylist Tabatha Coffey that he was $300,000 in debt and had borrowed from his mother and taken out a second mortgage just to keep the business afloat, per the Inquirer's account. Cartier has credited much of his later success — including a hair-product spokesperson career, his own HSN brand, and paid public-speaking engagements — to that television appearance.
In 2011, Cartier founded what's now known as Wigs & Wishes, a nonprofit that provides free wigs to women battling cancer and grants wishes to children fighting the disease, the Inquirer reports. The charity, legally named Friends Are By Your Side, Inc., reported $613,417 in revenue and $507,937 in expenses on its 2024 federal tax return, ending that year with roughly $1.37 million in assets, according to the New Jersey Globe.
Charity's Compliance Status Questioned
The New Jersey Attorney General's charitable-registration database currently lists Friends Are By Your Side as non-compliant, the Globe reported. Cartier has said the nonprofit was listed that way because his accountant had requested an extension for its tax filings, and he shared a photo of the nonprofit's tax returns dated October 26. Separately, in October 2025, Pelco Builders filed a $600,388.93 construction lien for allegedly unpaid work at a property, naming Cartier and his charity in connection with the claim, per the same report.
Charity Navigator gives Wigs & Wishes a two-star rating, while the research organization Candid has identified shortcomings in several recommended board-governance practices, according to the Globe's reporting. Gloucester County Democrats have accused Cartier of illegally intermingling his nonprofit and his political campaign, a claim the candidate disputes.
A Zoning Fight That's Still Unresolved
Cartier sued Washington Township in 2024, alleging selective enforcement after officials said he violated zoning statutes by failing to obtain permits for sculptures on his property, including plans for a Christmas tree farm. The township said at the time that the penalty could run $1,000 per day per sculpture, plus possible jail time, according to 6ABC. The federal civil-rights case was administratively terminated from the active docket this September, with the court noting that settlement discussions were continuing, court filings reviewed by PacerMonitor show.
It's a notable reversal given Cartier's history with local Democrats. Washington Township Democrats once celebrated him as a hometown hero on a parade float, and in 2021, Democratic U.S. Rep. Donald Norcross awarded him a Making a Difference Award at the county's NAACP gala, the Inquirer notes. Cartier has said he and Commissioner Gattinelli have not spoken since he launched his campaign.
Older Legal Matters Resurface on the Trail
Recent attack ads have raised decades-old insurance-fraud cases and other legal and financial disputes from Cartier's past, according to wpst.com's reporting. The Globe's reporting details that Cartier pleaded guilty to falsely reporting his vehicle stolen and was ordered to pay restitution to Allstate through New Jersey's Pre-Trial Intervention program. Separately, a $50 million defamation lawsuit Cartier filed against HSN was dismissed, with the terms of any settlement undisclosed.
Candidates and campaign organizations in New Jersey are required to file contribution and expenditure reports with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission, a requirement that applies broadly across state campaigns as the race heads toward its conclusion. Gloucester County Republicans selected Cartier, Falcone and McCormick as their commissioner candidates after a runoff was needed when two candidates tied on the first ballot, the Globe has reported.
Gloucester County voters will decide in the coming election whether Cartier's mix of philanthropy, reality-television fame, and now-contested legal and financial history translates into a seat on the board of commissioners. The outcome of the Washington Township litigation, and whether the charity's compliance status will be resolved, remain open questions as the campaign enters its final stretch.
