A fter 10 years of service on the Holmdel Township Committee, Serena DiMaso has found a new home on the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders.
At a special election held Jan. 14 at Colts Neck High School, the Monmouth County Republican Committee elected DiMaso to fill the seat vacated by Robert Clifton, who resigned as a freeholder just prior to being sworn in to office as a state Assemblyman earlier this month.
DiMaso resigned from the Holmdel Township Committee to take her seat on the freeholder board, which oversees the operation of Monmouth County.
“It was quite a whirlwind. I am very excited about being able to represent all of Monmouth County,” DiMaso said, moments after Monmouth County Clerk Claire French swore her in to office.
The other candidates who were considered for the position were Howell Mayor Bob Walsh, Manalapan Committeeman Ryan Green and Atlantic Highlands Councilman Peter Doyle.
A candidate needed 50 percent plus one of the votes cast by the county’s Republican representatives to win the seat on the freeholder board. When the ballots were counted, DiMaso had 243 votes, good for exactly 50 percent of the 486 votes cast, but not enough for a majority.
A runoff election was held between Di- Maso and Walsh, who received 149 votes, but the Howell mayor conceded before the voting concluded.
“I am happy that we have a candidate in Serena DiMaso, a magnificent public servant who has served the residents of Holmdel for many years,” Freeholder Director John Curley said. “She is a fiscal conservative. She is someone who brings a broad breadth of public and private experience to the board. I believe she is a pragmatist who will do very, very well for us.”
DiMaso also cited her fiscal conservatism as a trait that would mesh with the rest of her new colleagues on the all-Republican board.
“I think the biggest issue is always going to be taxes, and I have a good track record of holding the line on taxes,” she said. “I hope to bring that same fiscal conservatism to the freeholder board. The freeholders are doing a great job and I will give them another set of hands.”
Monmouth County Republican Chairman Joseph Oxley said DiMaso’s experience through various fiscal issues in Holmdel stood out and will shine during her time on the freeholder board.