Election night 2007 in Freehold Borough will go down as a memorable one in history – a night that saw incumbents victorious – and the town’s longest-serving mayor deliver what he said may be his “swan song.”
What started out as an evening of electrically charged enthusiasm ended up with Borough Council incumbents Kevin Kane and Jaye Sims and Mayor Michael Wilson displaying strained voices choked with emotion, bringing all three men to the brink of tears at times during their victory speeches.
The Freehold Borough Democratic ticket of Wilson, Kane and Sims won the support of voters, with Wilson running unopposed and Kane and Sims fending off the challenge of Republican Ted Miller. The council terms are for three years and the mayor’s term is for four years.
Wilson has served as the borough’s mayor since May 1985. He received 1,265 votes, according to results posted on the Monmouth County Internet Web site.
Sims and Kane were re-elected with 1,141 and 1,059 votes, respectively. Miller received 791 votes in his bid for a council seat, according to the results posted on the county’s Internet Web site.
The victorious candidates gathered at the American Legion, West Main Street. As the returns came in they were announced by Wilson and charted on poster boards by George Maury, who has been performing that task for many years.
Sims’ re-election came much to the joy of his wife, Danielle, his mother, Eva, and his family and friends who came to share the wait.
Kane waited for the results with his wife, Ellen, his father and mother, Roger and Barbara, and other family members and friends.
After the results were in, Wilson spoke to the crowd of supporters who gave him a standing ovation at the conclusion of his speech.
“First, I want to thank the voters for doing the right thing,” he said. “It’s always been a team effort here. I’m lucky I have run unopposed, but this may be my swan song.”
Wilson said he has four more years to lead the town and that is exactly what he intends to do.
“I want to lead this town like I’ve tried to lead it all these years, in a positive direction. If this is my swan song, I want to thank all of you. It’s been a great run,” the mayor said.
Wilson, 57, noted that he has spent a lifetime in politics in his hometown, beginning with the work he did for Roger Kane, a mayor who he said was honored and revered.
“Then I had the opportunity to be elected to the Borough Council and to serve with Mayor Jack McGackin, who was my true friend, and he died way too soon,” Wilson said. “But for the short time he was here, he was a great mayor. After my term, I promise to work for the residents of Freehold Borough as hard as I did when I first became mayor when I was 35 years old, as hard as I can for my hometown. It’s always been a team effort with all the council members I have worked with over the years,” Wilson said.
“I want to congratulate Kevin Kane and Jaye Sims. I need to say this. Kevin Kane and Jaye Sims have character and they care about the town they were born in, grew up in and have lived in their whole life. I have no doubt that over the next four years they will do what’s best for Freehold Borough. Even if this is my swan song I’m glad these guys are with me tonight,” Wilson said.
Wilson served on the Borough Council for four years before becoming mayor. He has been an elected official since he was 31 years old.
In his remarks Sims thanked his wife, Danielle, for her support during his serving on the council. Noting that it had been a long campaign, Sims looked at Ellen Kane and said, “Ellen, I think I almost took up residence in your home.”
He thanked Freehold Borough Board of Education President Jim Keelan, Debbie Keelan, Sidney Blacknall and Kevin Coyne among others.
“I could never fill his shoes,” Sims said, directing his comment to Coyne, whose place on the governing body Sims took when Coyne stepped down from the council. He said Coyne has been a wonderful and trusted adviser and friend.
He thanked his mom, Eva, who he said helped with the campaign.
Speaking to Kevin Kane, Sims said, “Kevin, you have been a good friend and a fine person.”
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Speaking about Miller, Sims said his opponent cares about Freehold and pursued an aggressive campaign, although he said he did not always agree with some of Miller’s tactics.
Sims urged residents to get involved.
“It all starts here,” he said. “We need your support.”
In his comments Kane congratulated Miller and said his opponent “made us work as hard as we did,” adding, “We may lose, but we will never be outworked.”
Kane said he and Sims knocked on doors and spoke to residents to get feedback and comments about their concerns.
“I’m here to tell you that politics as we knew it changed a couple of months ago,” he said. “There are some holes in our organization and tomorrow we start to fix that.”
Kane said he would contact the Freehold Democratic Club and start immediately to campaign, not only for two months a year.
Switching gears, Kane talked about his family and friends.
“They say we’re Irish, but I think we’re Amish. As soon as something is needed, everyone is here,” he said, looking at his wife and mentioning his children Erin, Meghan and Caitlin.
Then Kane spoke of campaigning again.
“We really need to get on it because the next four years starts tomorrow. We need everyone’s help. We start with (the votes that went to Miller) and see what they are thinking. I grew up in borough politics and I have been fortunate to have a leader like Mike Wilson. He has run our town for almost a quarter of a century and he knows politics inside and out.”
Miller, who was making his first bid for public office, said he believes he made a very strong run for a council seat. He thanked everyone who voted and said he appreciated the help from those who joined him going door to door.
“I must thank everyone who invited me into their homes to meet and speak with their families, neighbors and friends … I can say with certainty that all of Freehold Borough is full of wonderful families, neighbors and friends. I encourage all to please come to Borough Council and Board of Education meetings.
“This community must continue to send a consensus from our families, neighbors and friends. Our elected representatives must address our quality of life issues … We need our council and school board to represent us with us in mind, not outside anarchists and protesters,” Miller said.
He added, “The incumbents have failed to offer voters the opportunity for a fair debate. It is reasonable that incumbents provide an honest forum for the voters. It is necessary for incumbents to demonstrate they truly understand issues. And we should not and do not accept the presumptive rule we have today. This is why all borough residents must start thinking about Nov. 4, 2008, today.
“We must work on restoring the twoparty system for Freehold Borough, we must press hard on our most important quality of life issues, we must stop the outside activists from ‘block busting’ Freehold Borough, we must reinforce with vigor current enforcement of the rental code and demand a permanent standing rental property committee, we must insist that our streets be free from aggressive day laborers and we have to fight hard to maintain the value of our homes that we work so hard for.
“Freehold Borough is a great melting pot and will become a fine All-American city. We need more ‘Vote For’ signs and less ‘For Sale’ signs,” Miller said.