Residents in Hazlet, Holmdel, Keyport, Matawan and Middletown have elected members of their local governing body in the Nov. 8 general election.
The results of the 2022 election were unofficial as of Nov. 9 and will remain unofficial until they have been certified. That process could take one week or longer.
According to the Monmouth County Votes website which is posted online by the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office, as of Nov. 9, the unofficial results included early voting machines; Election Day machines (99% processed); and Election Day mail-in ballots (95% processed).
Election Day drop boxes, late mail-in ballots, provisional ballots and cure letters were pending, according to the website.
Aberdeen Township – There was no municipal election in Aberdeen Township in 2022.
Hazlet – In a contested race for two three-year terms on the Township Committee, Republicans Robert Preston Jr., an incumbent, and James A. Cavuto defeated Democratic challengers Danielle Roth and David Personette.
As of Nov. 9, Cavuto received 4,459 votes and Preston received 4,423 votes. Roth received 2,574 votes and Personette received 2,546 votes, according to the results posted online by the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office.
In a contested race for one two-year unexpired term, incumbent Republican Peter Terranova turned back a challenge from Democrat Lucille LoSapio.
According to the clerk’s office, Terranova received 4,451 votes and LoSapio received 2,550 votes.
Republicans hold all five Township Committee seats in Hazlet.
Holmdel – In a contested race for two three-year terms on the Township Committee, Republicans Brian Foster, an incumbent, and Kimberley LaMountain defeated independent candidates Julie Roth and Rajesh Mohan.
According to the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office, LaMountain received 3,883 votes and Foster received 3,872 votes as of Nov. 9. Roth received 2,279 votes and Mohan received 2,225 votes.
Foster was recently appointed to fill a vacant seat on the Township Committee and his first full term will begin in January. LaMountain will join the governing body when it reorganizes in January for 2023.
Keyport – In a contested race for the mayor’s office, Republican Rose P. Araneo won her first four-year term as Keyport’s top elected official.
As of Nov. 9, Araneo received 1,337 votes. She defeated Democrat Victoria Pacheco, who received 1,059 votes.
Araneo is currently a member of the Borough Council. When she takes the mayor’s office in January she will leave her council seat and a Republican will be appointed to fill the vacancy.
In a contested race for two three-year terms on the Borough Council, Republicans Melissa Vecchio and Cathleen Reilly defeated Democrats Delia Sosa McDermott, an incumbent, and Danielle Mastropiero.
Vecchio received 1,345 votes and Reilly received 1,321 votes as of Nov. 9, according to the clerk’s office. Mastropiero received 1,050 votes and McDermott received 1,039 votes.
Democrats and Republicans currently hold a 3-3 split on the Borough Council and Democrats hold the mayor’s office in Keyport.
When Vecchio and Reilly join the governing body in January, Republicans will hold a 5-1 majority and control the mayor’s office with Araneo’s victory.
Matawan – In a contested race for two three-year terms on the Borough Council, Democratic incumbent Brian Livesey appears to have retained his seat. According to the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office, Livesey had received 1,472 votes as of Nov. 9.
A closer race was shaping up between Democrat Steven Russell and Republican Richard Galasso in their bids for the second available council seat.
As of Nov. 9, Russell had received 1,456 votes and Galasso had received 1,447 votes. Outstanding ballots could decide the winner of the second available council term.
Republican Florence Hult had received 1,419 votes as of Nov. 9.
Middletown – In a contested race for two three-year terms on the Township Committee, Republican incumbents Rick Hibell and Kevin Settembrino turned back a challenge from Democrats Paige Gregorio and Rocky Rios.
According to the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office, Hibell received 16,237 votes and Settembrino received 16,135 votes as of Nov. 9. Gregorio received 9,555 votes and Rios received 9,291 votes.
Republicans hold all five seats on the Township Committee in Middletown.