South River voters elected Republican mayoral candidate John Krenzel in a tight race against Democrat Matthew Vaughn on Tuesday.
Krenzel, the current Borough Council president, beat out Vaughn, also a councilman, by a vote of 1,430 to 1,274, to succeed Republican Mayor Ray Eppinger, who did not seek re-election.
Krenzel described the victory as “bittersweet,” because his running mates for council, Donna Farren and Michael Trenga, were defeated by their Democratic opponents. He also said his party was analyzing why the Republican mayoral vote did not carry over to the council race. However, he felt that incumbent Democratic Councilman Peter Guindi’s popularity with his fellow firefighters might have tipped the scales.
Farren received 1,227 votes and Trenga, 1,232, not enough to beat Guindi, who garnered 1,439 votes, and running mate Thomas Roselli, who received 1,365.
Approximately 36 percent of registered voters came out to cast their ballots.
“South River does have a history of splitting victory, but this is historic in that the Republicans are remaining in power now for the fifth year, and that is a rarity in South River,” Krenzel said.
Krenzel said he would like members of the governing body to serve in a bipartisan manner, as the council’s six seats will continue to be split evenly between the two parties. He said he is willing to work with the Democrats, as he believes has been the case in the past.
“Ninety-nine percent of matters go through with consent, so there is agreement,” he said.
In total, 2,782 residents exercised their voting rights, and Krenzel carried nine out of the borough’s 14 districts.