Most incumbents held their seats in other area contests.
By: Linda Seida
West Amwell Township Committeewoman Nance Palladino emerged victorious Tuesday in her first run at a seat on the Hunterdon County Board of Chosen Freeholders.
Her win marks the first time in more than a century a township resident will sit on the board.
Ms. Palladino, a Republican, garnered the most votes, 17,514, in the race for two open seats on the board. Republican incumbent Marcia A. Karrow won the second seat with 16,063 votes. Democrat Thomas A. Leonardis Jr. trailed with 9,653 votes.
In Lambertville, voters re-elected Democratic Mayor David Del Vecchio to a fifth three-year term. Mayor Del Vecchio triumphed over his challenger, Republican Chris Gazzillo, by a vote of 972 to 556.
Lambertville Councilwoman Cynthia L. Ege and her Democratic running mate, Brian D. Smith, lost their bid for seats in the General Assembly. They trailed with votes of 8,796 and 8,565 respectively against Republicans Connie Myers with 14,668 votes and Michael J. Doherty with 14,117 votes.
In the race for two slots on Stockton Borough Council, incumbent Democrat Stephen Giocondo and Republican challenger Jeffrey J. Kreider tied for second place with 114 votes each. That included absentee ballots.
Republican newcomer Nicolo Messina won a seat on council when he earned the most votes of all four candidates, 135. Incumbent Democrat Christopher L. Smith trailed with 107 votes.
As of press time, it remained uncertain how the tie between Mr. Kreider and Mr. Giocondo would be broken, according to a spokeswoman at the office of the Hunterdon County Clerk.
Also in Stockton, voters approved a length-of-service reward program, commonly referred to as LOSAP, for the town’s firefighters and emergency services workers, 131 to 31.
In the West Amwell race for a seat on the Township Committee, voters gave a nod of confidence to Mayor Peter A. Buchsbaum, a Democrat. He scored a victory over Republican challenger Ruth J. Hall, township historian, 440 votes to 317 votes.
In Delaware Township, Republicans captured both open slots on the Township Committee. Richard W. Madden Jr. and David C. Bond triumphed with 1,175 and 1,101 votes respectively. Democrat John Miller trailed with 970 votes.
In New Hope, the race for three open seats on Borough Council was a clean sweep for Democrats. Incumbents Geri Delevich and Richard Hirschfield earned 431 and 357 votes respectively. Rey Velasco received 451 votes.
Mr. Hirschfield, council president, also was a write-in candidate on the Republican ticket and received an additional 172 votes from Republicans. Republican Claire E. Shaw earned 270 votes, while Republican Michael McManus received 153.
In Solebury Township, Republicans took both open slots on the Board of Supervisors. Susan Kroupa received 1,119 votes and Ruth Ann Wilson got 1,062 votes. Democrat Marcus Saitschenko trailed with 455 votes.