Candidates for municipal government in seven local towns prepare for the June 7 primary.
By: Scott Morgan and
The candidates looking to earn their political party’s nod to run for municipal government seats this year are set, now that Monday’s filing deadline has passed.
Candidates in seven local towns are ready for the June 7 primary, when Democrats and Republicans will vote their party’s standard-bearers in the November general election.
In a primary election, registered Democrats can only vote in their party’s primary and registered Republicans can only vote in the GOP primary. Independent voters can cast ballots in either party’s primary, but by doing so they are changing their party affiliation to whichever party’s primary they are voting in.
Below is a breakdown, by town, of candidates looking to serve on local councils and committees in Bordentown Township, Chesterfield, Fieldsboro, Florence, Mansfield, New Hanover and North Hanover.
In Bordentown Township, two three-year Township Committee seats are up for grabs this year.
Mayor Bruce Hill and Robert Delaney will vie for the GOP nomination in an uncontested Republican primary, while Democrats Nick Renna and Joseph Luisi are running for their party’s nomination in the Democratic primary.
Township Committeeman Jerry Boyer, a Republican, has decided not to seek re-election.
In Chesterfield, Republican Larry Durr, who currently serves as mayor, will run for the GOP nomination in a contested primary for a three-year Township Committee term this June. He will face fellow Republican Edward Conway, who has previously served on the Township Committee and as mayor.
Democrat Robert Rupinski has filed to run for his party’s nomination for the three-year seat.
Mr. Durr’s is the only open seat on the committee this year.
In Fieldsboro, the mayor’s seat, plus two Borough Council seats are open in this year’s election, and the incumbent Democrats looking to fill them again will run unopposed in the Democratic Party primary.
Mayor Ed Tyler will run unopposed for the mayor’s seat this year. Councilman David Hansell is running for a second term, while Councilman Harry Brown, just appointed Wednesday to replace resigning Councilman Michael Carroll, is looking for his first full term on the council.
No Republicans filed to run.
In Florence, three Democrats and three Republicans have file to run for their party’s nominations to fill three available seats on the Township Council this June.
For the Democrats, Councilman Frank Baldorossi Jr. will run for his second term on council, while Leon Russo and James Angelini will seek their first.
Republican Councilmen Bruce Garganio and Jerry Sandusky, vying for their third and fourth terms, respectively, will run in the GOP primary with newcomer Tom Stanuikynas, who is seeking his first term on the Township Council.
All seats are four-year terms.
In Mansfield, two Republicans will run in their party’s uncontested June primary for two three-year seats on the Township Committee.
Mayor Art Puglia will run for his second consecutive term on the committee and Kenneth Denti, who ran as an Independent for a one-year unexpired seat in last November’s election and lost to Township Committeeman Bruce Waite, is running. Mr. Waite is not seeking re-election.
No Democrats filed to run.
In New Hanover, Steven Schenker is the only Democrat who has filed for one of two three-year seats open on the Township Committee. On the Republican side, five candidates have filed to run in a contested GOP primary for the two open seats.
Republicans George Ivins Jr., Paul Peterla, George C. Tiesmeyer, Jason Manger, and William S. Kaytes, who already sits on the committee, have filed. Mr. Ivins and Mr. Peterla are running as a team.
Township Committeeman William Roscoe, a Republican, is not seeking re-election.
In North Hanover, three men, two of whom are former mayors, are running for one three-year seat on the Township Committee.
In the contested Republican primary,Township Committeeman Lou DeLorenzo and Frank Preto have filed to run for the seat. Former Mayor John Kocubinski, who lost his bid for re-election in November 2003, filed to run in the uncontested Democratic primary.

