FREEHOLD — The unopposed Democratic mayor and two Democratic members of the Borough Council in Freehold Borough have been re-elected.
Mayor Nolan Higgins and Borough Council members Sharon Shutzer and Ron Griffiths will return to their seats after claiming victory on Nov. 3.
Higgins received 1,097 votes in his bid to remain mayor.
Shutzer and Griffiths fended off a challenge from Republicans who were seeking to give the GOP a voice in local government. Shutzer received 885 votes and Griffiths received 842 votes to win the three-year terms. Robert Gibbons received 412 votes and Michael Gill received 432 votes in their bid for council seats, according to results posted on the Monmouth County website. The results are unofficial until they are certified by the county.
Higgins said he looks forward to another four years as mayor.
“I am honored by the confidence our residents have placed in us by returning Sharon Shutzer, Ron Griffiths and I to the governing body. We will continue to work on behalf of our residents to provide efficient municipal services to our community,” Higgins said.
Shutzer said she was “thrilled, honored and humbled” to be re-elected.
“I am more determined than ever to serve the good residents of Freehold Borough,” she said.
Griffiths said he was “thankful for the voters’ trust in the borough’s Democratic candidates and happy for the opportunity to serve another three years. We still have a lot of unfinished business. I hope we can engage our citizens and get them involved more in their local government.”
Gill said, “the one thing I have taken away is that Freehold Borough’s residents truly care about this town. To run against someone (Shutzer) who has been a member of the council since I was a child and still have an outpouring of support, shows that people were open to our ideas.”
Gill left open the possibility of running again in the future, but will return to school to pursue a master of business administration degree.
Gibbons said it was “wonderful getting to meet so many residents of the borough” during his run for a council seat.
“The election did not go our way, but it was all worth it,” he said.
On election night, Gibbons said, he congratulated Higgins, who had just won reelection, and thanked him for his service.
“He (Higgins) encouraged me to stay active in the goings on in town,” Gibbons said.
As for running again, Gibbons said he first has to make some important personal decisions.
“At the end of the day though, it is a passion of mine to be involved in public service and at some point, somewhere, I will definitely run again,” he said.
Freehold Borough voters supported Democrats in the three races that topped the ballot on Nov. 3.
In the 11th District state Assembly race, Democrats Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey received 726 and 722 votes, respectively, and Republicans Mary Pat Angelini and Caroline Casagrande received 530 and 542 votes, respectively, in Freehold Borough. When all of the votes in the district were counted, Houghtaling and Downey unseated Angelini and Casagrande from their Assembly seats.
In the race for a seat on the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders, Carol Rizzo received 705 votes and John Curley received 549 votes in Freehold Borough. When all of the votes in the county were counted, Curley retained his seat on the freeholder board.
In the race for the job of Monmouth County Clerk, Democrat Kevin Kane, who is a Freehold Borough councilman, received 815 votes and Republican Christine Giordano Hanlon received 482 votes in Freehold Borough. When all of the votes in the county were counted, Hanlon won her first full term as county clerk.