David Kilby, Managing Editor
JAMESBURG — Marlene Lowande won the election Tuesday to become the first female mayor in Jamesburg.
She will join newcomer Brian Taylor and Councilwoman Daria Ludas on the Borough Council next year.
They raced against Republican candidates Darren Larsen for mayor along with Samuel Lawrence and Tom Meehan for council.
Mayor-elect Lowande received 515 votes, Councilman-elect Taylor received 520, and Councilwoman Ludas received 517.
Ms. Lowande and Mr. Taylor will take the place of Mayor Tony LaMantia, who decided not to run for reelection, and Councilwoman Brenda Deans, who was defeated in the Democratic primaries.
Mr. Larsen received 431 votes, Mr. Lawrence received 407, and Mr. Meehan received 401. These totals do not include absentee ballots.
Councilwoman Barbara Carpenter congratulated Ms. Lowande for becoming the first woman to win the vote for mayor in Jamesburg history.
”You guys ran a great campaign, and I’m sure it was stressful,” she said at the council meeting Wednesday.
Council President Otto Kostbar also congratulated the winning candidates at the meeting and said the upcoming year is going to be a challenge, but he looks forward to working with the new candidates.
Ms. Lowande explained why the campaign was a success.
”We stuck to the facts,” she said. “We tried to be dignified. We backed up figures and the things we said and spoke from our hearts.”
She said she, Mr. Taylor and Ms. Ludas went door to door to about 85 percent of the houses in town when campaigning.
”Talking with residents, listening to residents really gave us insight on what they want and what they’re looking for,” she said. “And the three of us stayed as a team. We had the same pattern of thinking.”
She said living in a small town makes it easier to connect with residents since everyone has so much in common.
”It’s important to have a good base and family values,” she said. “I have a good work ethic and plan to bring that into my job as mayor.”
She added she is encouraged by the fact some young women in town now are looking to her as a role model and said it’s an honor to have people vote for her.
”Then you get scared a little and say ‘I have a job to do.’ I told (Mayor) Tony (LaMantia) I’m going to be his shadow for the next few months,” she said, adding she has a bunch of questions written down she will ask the professionals who work for the borough.
She said she also plans to take political classes at Rutgers.
”I think Jamesburg needs to move forward,” she said. “How that happens right now we don’t know. We don’t want to pay more, but we don’t want to lose our identity so how do we do those things?”
Mr. Taylor gave comments on his election.
”I was honored that the people of Jamesburg put confidence in me that I’d move the town in the right direction,” he said.
Mr. Taylor has said throughout his campaign he is not a politician.
”When I was busy raising my family, I used to say ‘I wish just a regular guy would run — a plumber, an electrician or a soccer mom with no hidden agenda, no party allegiance, no nothing,” he said.
He said he’s not going to be a career politician, and he just wants to make the town a better place for Jamesburg children and businesses.
He said he will work to find a way to keep Jamesburg students in Monroe Township High School, adding parents and the Borough Council have to work with the Jamesburg Board of Education to find a solution.
”When people are united, things happen,” he said.
Ms. Ludas, the council liaison to businesses in the borough, said she would like to see the business community in Jamesburg grow.
She also said she’d like to see volunteers come together to join the Ethics Committee. The Ethics Committee is a new committee in the borough this year that is open to residents in town. It’s designed to keep an eye on government officials in the borough, but no volunteers have stepped up to join.
The council is seeking volunteers. If interested, call Borough Hall at 732-521-2222.
”I’d like to see the town involved,” Ms. Ludas said. “Jamesburg is a small community, and the more groups that work together, the stronger the community becomes.”
The Jamesburg Republican candidates for council shared their comments on how the race went as well.
”We thought we were getting the message out,” Mr. Lawrence said. “We thought that (the residents) really heard us.
But they were optimistic about how many votes they received.
”The fact that we got 400 and something votes to me is a victory,” Mr. Meehan said.
Mr. Larsen said his loss in the election isn’t going to change his involvement in the community.
”I’m still going to be around,” he said. “Sometimes it’s the community that pushes things in the direction the town needs to go in.”
He encouraged residents to get involved, set an example and speak up at council meetings.
”(Mr. Larsen) doesn’t need a hat or label to do what he does for the town,” said Rorie Holman, of Franklin Street, reacting to the election results. “He will always be there for the people of Jamesburg. He is what the town needs, and he will be elected eventually.”
