By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
Township voters will go to the polls Tuesday to select a governor, two Township Council members and an assortment of county and state lawmakers and officeholders.
Voters also will be asked to vote on one public question, which seeks approval for the state to borrow up to $400 million to buy land for farmland and open space preservation, to buy properties that are prone to flooding and to fund historic preservation projects.
The polling places will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
At the top of the ticket, Democratic Gov. Jon Corzine is facing competition from 11 candidates who would like to occupy the governor’s seat for the next four years. Gov. Corzine is seeking his second term, and he is being challenged by Republican candidate Chris Christie.
For the first time, voters also will choose a lieutenant governor on the same slate as the governor.
Gov. Corzine is running with state Sen. Loretta Weinberg and Mr. Christie is running with Monmouth County Sheriff Kimberly M. Guadagno
The other gubernatorial candidates include Kenneth R. Kaplan and John Paff on the Libertarian Party ticket, Gregory Pason and Costantino Rozzo of the Socialist Party USA, and Joshua Leinsdorf and Ubaldo Figliola of the Fair Election Party.
Also, Christopher J. Daggett and Frank J. Esposito of Independent for New Jersey, Jason Cullen and Gloria Leustek of People Not Politics, Gary Stein and Cynthia Stein of These Foolish Things, and Kostas Petris and Kevin Davies of For the People.
Also running are David R. Meiswinkle and Noelani Musicaro of Middle Class Empowerment, Alvin Lindsay Jr. and Eugene Harley of Lindsay for Governor and Gary T. Steele and Theresa A. Nevins of Leadership, Independence, Vision.
At the municipal level, two Township Council seats are up for grabs. The term is for four years.
Democratic Township Councilman Greg Puliti and his running mate, James Kownacki, are running against Republican Township Councilman Rick Miller and his running mate, Ginny Bigley, for the two seats.
The race for two state Assembly seats in the 15th Legislative District pits incumbents Bonnie Watson Coleman and Reed Gusciora, both Democrats, against Republican nominees Kim Taylor — who is a Lawrence resident — and Werner Graf, and Libertarian Party candidates Daryl Mikell Brooks and Charles Green. The term is for four years.
At the Mercer County level, voters will be asked to choose three members of the Mercer County Board of Chosen Freeholders for three-year terms.
The contest pits incumbent Democratic Freeholders Ann M. Cannon, Pasquale “Pat” Colavita Jr. — who lives in Lawrence — and Daniel R. Benson against Republican Party challengers Cindy Randazzo, Shirley A. Guerieri and Russell Wojtenko Jr.
Voters who live in Districts 2, 9 and 10 can cast their ballots at the Slackwood Firehouse on Slack Avenue, and voters who live in Districts 3, 6, 8 and 11 vote at the Lawrence Road Firehouse on Lawrence Road.
Voters who live in Districts 1, 4, 7, 15 and 20 vote at the Lawrenceville Firehouse on Gordon Avenue, and those who live in District 5 vote at the Project Freedom clubhouse, off Princeton Pike.
The Lawrence Senior Center on Darrah Lane is the polling place for voters in Districts 12, 13, 14 and 19.
The Lawrence Square Village clubhouse, off Quakerbridge Road, is the place for voters in District 16.
Voters in Districts 17, 18 and 21 cast their ballots at the Municipal Building on Route 206.
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