HIGHTSTOWN: McGinty, Theokas elected to Borough Council

By Vic Monaco, Managing Editor
   HIGHTSTOWN – Political newcomer Isabel McGinty came in first by a wide margin as local residents handed in a split ticket Tuesday, electing Democrat McGinty and Republican Mike Theokas to two seats on the Borough Council.
   Unofficial results, not including absentee or provisional ballots, showed Ms. McGinty, a criminal attorney, garnering 1,199 votes and Mr. Theokas, the former owner of Theo’s Lakeside Tavern, getting 936.
   Democrat Janice Mastriano, a former member of the regional school board, came in third, with 842 votes. Republican Ashley Hutchinson, an attorney and chairwoman of the borough Republican Committee, finished fourth with 755.
   Ms. McGinty, who ran as an “independent Democrat” eschewing partisan politics in the borough, expressed surprise at her margin of victory and acknowledged that the national political scene may have played a part.
   ”Man, do I thank Barack Obama!” she said shortly after returning home Tuesday night from working as an election observer in Philadelphia for the Obama campaign.
   In a letter to the editor this week, the 29-year borough resident who lives on Broad Street, said her election is a “great honor.”
   ”And if you voted for the others and not me, I’ll work to earn your trust,” she added.
   Mr. Theokas, the only candidate running on a platform that includes support for total consolidation with East Windsor, expressed mixed feelings.
   ”It feels great but it’s a little bittersweet right now,” he said at his former business, where he and about 15 GOP supporters including Mayor Bob Patten had gathered Tuesday night after the polls closed. “I was hoping for Ashley and me to get in as a ticket.”
   ”I’m appreciative for all the support we got and I certainly look forward to serving on council the best I can,” said Mr. Theokas, a member of the borough Economic Development Committee.
   The election of Mr. Theokas, a Mill Run East resident who was an unsuccessful candidate last year, marks the first time a Republican will be a member of council since 2005.
   Of 2,960 registered voters in the borough, 2,086 or 70.5 percent went to the polls, according to the borough’s Web site. That compares to about 70.2 percent in 2004 but neither percentage includes absentee and provisional ballots, according to Borough Clerk Candace Gallagher.
   ”And there were certainly more absentee ballots this time because the law was changed (allowing such voting without a reason),” she said.
   Forty-five provisional ballots were filed in the borough, according to Assistant Clerk Leona Bailey.
   Ms. McGinty, 53, and Mr. Theokas, 35, will likely be sworn in to office Jan. 1, succeeding Democrats Ryan Rosenberg and Constance Harinxma, who did not seek re-election.
   Ms. Hutchinson, a member of the local Planning Board who also serves as the first vice chairwoman of the Mercer County Republican Committee, said she was disappointed in the election outcome.
   ”However, in a year of overwhelming partisan sweeps, I am overjoyed that Mike Theokas is elected to serve on council,” said the 36-year-old Hagemount Avenue resident. “Mike’s success and the overall closeness of the race in the current climate is a testament to the hard work and quality campaign that we ran. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Going door to door and speaking with our residents about the issues that face our town was enlightening.”’
   Ms. Mastriano, 72, of Leshin Lane, congratulated the winners in a letter to the editor submitted too late for this edition.
   ”I will support them in every way during their time of service,” she wrote.
   She also acknowledged that she did little campaigning and apologized for that. She said an overseas trip, a broken toe and eye surgery were obstacles. The surgery resulted in her not taking part in a candidates forum sponsored by the League of Women Voters.
   Ms. Mastriano served on the school board nine years in the 1990s and early 2000s. While a board member in 2000, the self-described “conservative Christian Democrat” outraged some members of the community with comments linking gays and pedophiles. For that reason, local Democratic Club President Chris Moraitis supported an unsuccessful eleventh-hour write-in candidate as an alternative in the primary election.