SAYREVILLE – Republicans are looking to the Nov. 3 municipal election to retain the mayor’s seat and increase their representation on the Borough Council, which Democrats now control by five seats to one.
Four-term Mayor Kennedy O’Brien is seeking re-election, running against incumbent Council President David McGill who received the Democratic nomination.
Two three-year terms on the Borough Council are also up for election, with incumbent Ricci Melendez and candidate Steven Grillo looking to maintain the Democratic majority against a challenge by Republican candidates Pasquale “Pat” Lembo and Christian Hibinski.
Hibinski, who is attending the Pace University
School of Law in New York, replaced David Lewis who dropped out of the race in July, citing business reasons.
Lembo ran alongside former councilwoman Lisa Eicher on the GOP ticket last year, narrowly losing to current councilwomen Mary Novak and Victoria Kilpatrick.
O’Brien has said the GOP platform rests has three main objectives: establish longterm tax relief, fight traffic, crime and overdevelopment and enhance civic pride.
McGill states his ticket’s role is to regenerate Sayreville, which, he says, lacks momentum for the future.
“I want to keep our seniors here,” he states, “and cultivate a stable tax base by bringing in young families.”