Roth, Holland appear to win in Manalapan

Provisional ballots are being counted this week

BY KATHY BARATTA Staff Writer

MANALAPAN — The outcome of the Township Committee election in Manalapan will not be final until all the provisional ballots that were cast in the election are counted.

No results will be official until they are certified by the Monmouth County Board of Elections and that process has until Nov. 17 to be completed and certified.

In Manalapan, vote totals posted on the Monmouth County Internet Web site indicated that voters had elected Democrats Michelle Roth, with 8,700 votes, and Don Holland, with 8,392 votes, to two three-year terms on the Township Committee.

Roth is a present member of the Township Committee and is serving as Manalapan’s mayor in 2008.

The results show Republican candidates Ryan Green, 8,248 votes, and William Garcia, 8,171 votes, coming up short in their bid for election; however, the totals posted on the county’s Web site do not include the 197 outstanding provisional ballots that were cast in Manalapan on Election Day, Nov. 4.

Provisional ballots are cast by people who believe they are registered to vote but whose name does not appear on the voting rolls. A provisional vote can be counted after the voter’s registration has been verified. The verification process is taking place this week.

Manalapan municipal clerk Rose Ann Weeden said there are 197 provisional ballots to be counted. There is a 144-vote difference between Holland and Green’s totals.

In commenting on the results of the election, Roth said, “I am honored to serve the residents of Manalapan for a second term. I would also like to thank everyone who worked with Don (Holland) and I during our campaign. As we move forward during these uncertain financial times, I will continue to focus on controlling spending while evaluating alternative sources of revenue.”

Holland said, “God willing I will be able to join in her (Roth’s) victory on Nov. 17. The state of our economy, the ever-rising cost of living and even more cuts in state funding leaves no doubt that stabilizing our budget will be my top priority.

“Cutting costs and improving efficiency in all of our municipal departments, solar arrays and pre-paying our street lighting expenses, expanding our shared services agreements with the boards of education and neighboringmunicipalities, inter-departmental shared services in town hall, expanding the use of our Department of Public Works for inhouse projects and maintenance, and establishing municipal-private partnerships as a source of income at the Tillis property are all part of what our present Township Committee has been working on and it will be an honor to join them in continuing their effort to contain our budget,” Holland said.

Green said he would wait for the vote count to be certified before conceding the election. No matter the outcome, Green said he was proud to have been in the race.

“I certainly want to thank all those voters who came out to support me and I’m proud of the campaign we ran,” he said.

Garcia issued a statement and said, “I’d like to first congratulate Mrs. Roth and Mr. Holland on their (unofficial) victory. I would like to thank the over 8,000 residents that cast their support and trust in me to represent them on the governing body.

“Unfortunately I fell short, but I hold my head high. The people have spoken and I had a wonderful experience meeting hundreds upon hundreds of residents and feel we ran a very efficient campaign. I’m especially grateful for the opportunity to have a great running mate in Ryan Green,” he said.