KEYPORT – Republicans Rose Araneo and Ronald Peperoni have won three-year terms on the Borough Council in Keyport and will join the governing body in January to serve through December 2024.
According to election results posted online by the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office, Araneo received 1,338 votes and Peperoni received 1,314 votes. Incumbent Democratic councilmen Dennis Fotopoulos and Matthew Goode received 1,109 and 1,076 votes, respectively.
The election results are unofficial until they have been certified by the county.
The 2021 election was conducted with vote by mail ballots; with early in-person voting on nine days in late October; and with in-person voting on Election Day, Nov. 2.
Democrats currently hold a 5-1 majority on the Borough Council. When Araneo and Peperoni join the governing body there will be a 3-3 tie among Democrats and Republicans.
The mayor’s office is held by Democrat Collette Kennedy.
In an online statement, the municipal Republican Party wrote, “We would like to thank the voters who came out yesterday to speak clearly on wanting a change in the way Keyport was going. We want to thank our opponents for serving the residents and giving the time they spent on council, and wish both Denny and Matt the best moving forward.
“As we move forward the next couple of weeks into the new year, we will remember our pledge for Keyport, specifically being your voice. The confidence and trust you put in Rose and Ron will never go unnoticed,” the Republican Party wrote.
Fotopoulos thanked his supporters in an online statement, writing, “Thank you for the outpouring of support this morning. I truly appreciate it, but I want to assure you the gratitude I have to many of you for electing me three years ago and enabling me to serve the town I love as a council person is far greater than any disappointment I feel today.
“Being a member on the Borough Council with some very dedicated individuals has given me a perspective of our community and service in the community that is far greater than the broad one I already had.
“Being a politician isn’t for everyone and the jury is still out on whether it is for me or not. In the most challenging of times on the council, I would question why I did it. The answer always came back to my desire to serve in the town I love.
“I wish Ron and Rose the best in their victory and pray we will come together as a community. Today, I can set aside all of the bitterness of the campaign, but not my hopes for the future of the borough.
“It has been one of my life’s pleasures to serve as your advocate and friend on Borough Council. We have so much to be proud of here in Keyport and I will continue to serve wherever and whenever I can to help the community. See you around town,” Fotopoulos wrote.