FAIR HAVEN – Republicans Tracy Cole and Betsy Koch have won three-year terms on the Borough Council in Fair Haven. The terms will run from January 2022 through December 2024.
The 2021 general 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.
According to election results posted online by the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office, Koch, who is an incumbent, received 1,522 votes and Cole, who is a newcomer, received 1,482 votes to win the two available council terms.
Democrats Robert Gasperini and Sonja Trombino received 1,137 and 1,077 votes, respectively, according to the election results posted by the clerk’s office.
The results are unofficial until they have been certified by the county.
Republican Councilwoman Suzanne McCabe, who was appointed to the council earlier this year to fill an open seat, did not seek election to remain on the governing body.
Cole was one of three individuals whose names were submitted by officials from the Fair Haven Republican Party to fill the vacancy on the council earlier this year. The council members eventually appointed McCabe to the open seat.
With the victories by Cole and Koch, Republicans will continue to hold two seats on the Borough Council. The remaining four seats are held by Democrats Meghan Chrisner-Keefe, Michael McCue, Laline Neff and Christopher Rodriguez.
The mayor’s office is held by Republican Joshua Halpern, who was appointed to the position in October following the resignation of Republican Mayor Benjamin Lucarelli.
“Please join us in congratulating Councilwoman Betsy Koch, Councilwoman-elect Tracy Cole and the entire Monmouth County Republican team on their election victories,” the local Republican Party wrote in an online statement.