BY LINDA DeNICOLA
Staff Writer
TINTON FALLS – The election is decided, but the campaign signs posted around town are still up for grabs.
The Ethics in Government team of incumbent Brendan Tobin, newly elected Duane Morrill and Gary Baldwin won all three Borough Council seats by a comfortable margin on May 8 when voters went to the polls.
An unofficial tally had 1,736 total votes cast with Gary Baldwin getting the most votes at 1,187, Tobin second with 1,040 and Morrill garnering 937 votes.
The other team, Tinton Falls First, was made up of incumbent Kim Barrett, who received 622 votes, Richard Calvert had 509 votes and Charlie Lomangino, 479.
The new council will reorganize July 1 and should remain in office for the next two years until the next election when two incumbents, Paul Ford and Michael Skudera, will have to seek support for another four-year term, if that is their choice. In addition, Mayor Peter Maclearie’s term in office will be on the line.
Tobin, who had originally stated he would not run for a second term, said in an e-mail to residents, “We will do what we’ve always done, serve the majority.”
He noted that his team put out about 250 or so campaign signs and Councilwoman Kim Barrett and her teammates, also put out dozens of signs around town.
Tobin said he has come up with a great alternate use for the signs, something he learned when he ran four years ago. After that campaign, he was contacted by various organizations, like the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, the Board of Education and private citizens. They asked if they could use his signs to advertise other events.
“We can recycle the signs and use them to promote other borough events. Take the signs, slit them open, turn them inside out, restaple them, and you have a new medium to advertise that garage sale, bake sale or other fundraising event.
“It’s a great way to get our roadsides clean and to advertise important events in the borough,” he said, adding that each sign that people grab up is one less they have to throw in the trash.
Tobin said he will continue to keep the public informed through his e-mail communications and stay informed on the issue of the closure of Fort Monmouth.
All three candidates said limiting growth is a major concern over the next four years, as well as keeping taxes stable. Baldwin, who lives in Seabrook Village, said he wants to make seniors a priority, and Morrill is concerned about Tinton Falls’ infrastructure and retaining and attracting EMS volunteers.