Only two candidates will be on the Republican ballot for the general elections in November.
By: Leon Tovey
Monroe Republicans will have just two candidates for Township Council in the Nov. 8 general election, though all three of the ward seats are up for grabs.
Monroe Republicans selected Stephen Williams as their candidate for the Ward 2 seat on the Township Council and Carlos Lopez as the Ward 3 candidate in Tuesday’s primary election .
Mr. Williams, who was the only Republican candidate on the primary ballot, received 270 votes. Mr. Lopez, who had petitioned to run back in April and had his petition rejected due to a lack of qualified signatures was chosen as a write-in candidate with 11 votes.
There were no Republican candidates on the primary ballot for the Ward 1 seat and none was written in, according to the township clerk’s office. Voters can still write in a candidate in the general election.
Mr. Williams, who owns a construction company, previously ran for an at-large seat on the council in 2003. Mr. Lopez is a financial analyst for T.D. Waterhouse.
Democrats chose incumbent council members Henry Miller in District 1, Gerald Tamburro in District 2 and Joanne Connolly in District 3. Mr. Miller received 829 votes, Mr. Tamburro received 751 votes and Ms. Connolly received 131 votes.
Mr. Miller is a retired educator who was elected to the Township Council in 1989. Mr. Tamburro is a retired banker who was elected to the council in 2001. Ms. Connolly, the current council president, is a retired township high school teacher who was elected to the council in 1993.
There were no surprises in Jamesburg, where two seats on the Borough Council will be up for grabs in November and where each party had just two candidates on the ballot.
Republicans selected Adam Bushman and Mario Apuzzo as their candidates. Each man received 76 votes.
Mr. Bushman, a software engineer and member of the New Jersey Air National Guard, served on the council from 1996 to 2002. Mr. Apuzzo, an attorney and chairman of the borough’s Republican Municipal Committee, served on the council until 1996.
Democrats selected incumbent councilmen Carlos Morales and Otto Kostbar as their candidates. Mr. Morales received 75 votes and Mr. Kostbar received 72 votes.
Mr. Kostbar is an attorney who was elected to the council in 1999. Mr. Morales is a hazardous materials inspector for the Middlesex County Hazardous Materials Unit and New Jersey National Guard member who was elected to the council in 2002.
In the only contested race on the primary ballot the nomination of a gubernatorial candidate Monroe Democrats and Republicans followed state trends. Sen. Jon Corzine received 1,853 votes from township Democrats and former East Windsor Mayor Doug Forrester received 642 votes from township Republicans.
Jamesburg Democrats also followed the state trend, voting for Sen. Corzine, who received 76 Votes. Borough Republicans, however, broke with their party statewide, voting for former Jersey City Mayor Bret Schundler over Mr. Forrester, 44 votes to 37 votes.
In the race for the two seats in the 14th District of the State Assembly, Monroe Republicans gave 990 votes to incumbent Bill Baroni and 856 to retired South Brunswick Police Chief Michael Paquette. Republicans in Jamesburg gave Mr. Baroni 79 votes and Mr. Paquette 71 votes.
The winners will run against Democrats Linda Greenstein, an incumbent, and Daniel Benson in the general election.
Ms. Greenstein received 1,800 votes from Monroe Democrats, while Mr. Benson received 1,573.
Jamesburg Democrats gave each candidate 71 votes.