By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
Five Mercer County residents have emerged so far as Democratic candidates seeking election to Mercer County Freeholder seats, with no Mercer County Republicans having yet announced their candidacy.
Democratic incumbents Tony Mack and Lucy Walter will also be seeking the party nomination for their seats on March 15, bringing the total to seven.
Both parties plan conventions next month, with Democrats meeting March 15 to nominate two candidates for the June primary. They will also select someone to fill the seat of Elizabeth Muoio, who resigned effective March 1 to take a county planning job.
County Republicans have yet to announce the date of their convention, although Roy Wesley, Mercer County Republican Committee chairman, said the party should soon have an official date and place for its own convention.
Princeton Borough Councilman Andrew Koontz, former Hamilton Township Councilman Dan Benson, Trenton activist and entrepreneur Alysia Welch-Chester, Hamilton Township Council candidate John Cimino, and Mercer County Central Labor Council President Mike Maloney have all announced their intentions to run as Democrats.
Mr. Koontz announced his candidacy weeks ago, and said Thursday that his platform is based on his success as a Princeton Borough councilman.
He said he will focus on creating recreation opportunities at the county level, emphasizing the concepts of community policing and fiscal responsibility, and advocating for shared services.
”I can tell you straight up that municipalities could use a lot of assistance from the county and the state,” said Mr. Koontz, referring to emergency services needs.
Ms. Welch-Chester announced her candidacy Tuesday at a press conference in downtown Trenton.
”Among the issues I hope to focus on as an elected official in Mercer County are sustainable economic development, conservation of natural resources, and the expansion and promotion of arts, culture and history, especially as means to building tourism,” said Ms. Welch-Chester.
She received an on-the-spot endorsement from Trenton Councilwoman Annette Lartigue, who also chairs Trenton’s Democratic municipal committee.
Ms. Welch-Chester has served on the boards of Passage Theater in Trenton, McCarter Theatre in Princeton, and the Planned Parenthood Association of Mercer County, along with several Trenton civic organizations.
A stronger pay-to-play ordinance was enacted by referendum in Trenton in 2006, with Ms. Welch-Chester leading that push too.
At Mercer County’s Democratic convention any of the five candidates could end up getting selected to fill Ms. Muoio’s seat, leaving those remaining to vie for the other two preferred ballot positions in the June primary election, along with the two incumbents, Mr. Mack and Ms. Walter.
Round one at the convention will have elected county committee members — usually consisting of a committeeman and committeewoman for each of the county’s hundreds of voting districts — coming together and selecting a replacement for Ms. Muoio.
That person will serve until the November election when the seat will be up for grabs in a special election with the selected occupant being the party’s preferred candidate.
In round two, elected committee people from around Mercer County — plus any party members holding elected office or the municipal chairpersons — will decide who among the candidates, including the two incumbents, will get the party nod, and the two coveted ballot positions on the June primary ticket.
Those two positions give their holders an advantage as the official party candidates selected at the March convention, which should ultimately translate into an advantage in the November election, according to party officials.
Republicans wishing to run for freeholder can call the Mercer County Republican office at (609) 275-1007.
”At this point we are still looking for people,” said Roy Wesley, Mercer County Republican Committee chairman.
