Democrats only option this year for Borough Council
By: Stephanie Brown
JAMESBURG Many Republican voters said they were disappointed that there were no Republican candidates for Borough Council on the ballot.
On Tuesday, they said they were forced to either vote Democrat, write in someone they knew wouldn’t have a chance of getting elected, or not vote for Borough Council at all.
"I don’t believe in the Democratic way and I would have liked to have seen a Republican on the ballot," said Republican Theresa Chartier, who wrote in her husband’s name, Troy Chartier. Mr. Chartier received four write-in votes.
Democrats Joseph Jennings and Brian Grimes, who won the two, three-year seats, were the only names on the ballot for Borough Council. No Republican candidate chose to run this year, and the council’s lone Republican, Chris Maloney, did not seek re-election.
"This is a fluke this year that we didn’t have candidates," said Gregory Newton, chairman of the borough’s municipal Republican Committee.
Mr. Newton who took over as chairman in June after former Chairman Mario Apuzzo moved said no one was willing to run this year.
Often, he said, a Republican Committee member would file for the primary election not having the intention of running, but to serve as a placeholder.
Mr. Newton said no one could serve as a placeholder this year, and after the primaries, the committee felt it wasn’t worth running a write-in campaign.
"Given the registration numbers and how difficult it is to get elected as a Republican in Jamesburg, and in Middlesex County for that matter, the committee decided not to have any write-in candidate," Mr. Newton said. "It didn’t seem like it was going to be fruitful."
Many borough Republicans and Republican-minded voters said they wished the ballot had included a candidate that was in line with their political ideals.
Dawn Struthers voted down the Republican Party line, but did not vote for Borough Council.
"The Democratic Party is just too liberal of a party," Ms. Struthers said. "They don’t really hold the Christian values that I have, and I don’t feel they represent me at all."
Other voters did the same as Ms. Struthers, and didn’t vote for a council candidate.
Democrat candidates Mr. Jennings and Mr. Grimes both received about 60 percent of the total votes cast. About 9 percent of voters cast write-in votes. That means the remaining 30 percent of voters did not vote for council.
Mr. Newton said the number of voters who didn’t vote for council could be positive for the borough’s Republican Party.
"Well, there certainly is a Republican base, and when we do field candidates, we can at least be competitive," Mr. Newton said.
Other Republicans voted Democrat merely because that was the only party for whom they could vote.
Ian Struthers, Ms. Struthers’ husband and a registered Republican, voted for Mr. Jennings and Mr. Grimes.
"I voted for the two council members on it, because there were no other ones on there," Mr. Struthers said. "But I would have preferred to have had a Republican candidate, and I did vote for (state Sen. Tom Kean Jr.)."
Robert Matikonis, a registered independent, also unwillingly voted Democrat.
"I can’t see one party just controlling everything," Mr. Matikonis said. "There’s got to be a form of checks and balances. When you have one party, either all Republican or all Democrat, you don’t have that. They just vote one way."
Others cast write-in votes. Republican Mike Hackworth voted for himself. He received a total of four votes.
"I think for somebody to run uncontested, it doesn’t really speak a lot for the town’s involvement in politics, which is unfortunate," Mr. Hackworth said.

