Anthony Talerico EATONTOWN — The political makeup of the Borough Council will remain unchanged following last week’s general elections.
Republican candidate Kevin Gonzalez and Democratic candidate Anthony Talerico Jr. were both elected to the council to fill the seats of incumbent Republican Councilwoman Victoria Rau and departing Democratic Councilman Charles DaVis.
As a result, the Republican Party will continue to enjoy a 5-to-1 majority on the council. Mayor Gerald Tarantolo, a Democrat, votes only in the event of a tie.
Both Gonzalez and Talerico won the three-year seats on the council by a slim margin, with Talerico receiving 25 percent of the vote and Gonzalez garnering roughly 24 percent, according to unofficial results released by the Monmouth County Board of Elections.
Gonzalez’s running mate, Board of Education President Mark Van Wagner, received some 23 percent of the total vote, while Talerico’s running mate, Joy Anderson, received approximately 22 percent on the vote.
Rau, who ran for re-election as an independent candidate following her split from the borough’s Republican Party, received 6 percent of the vote.
Kevin Gonzalez As a newly elected councilman, Talerico said he looks forward to serving the borough.
“I feel very happy and I feel a sense of responsibility, and I look forward to the opportunity to serve Eatontown,” he said.
Talerico explained that he believes his election was the result of an aggressive door-to-door campaign he conducted with Anderson in which the two sought to understand the concerns of borough residents.
“Joy and I campaigned very hard. We went door to door, we made an attempt to hit every single door regardless of party affiliation, to learn what the residents are interested in and bring our message of inclusion for the entire town,” Talerico said. “And hopefully the residents have put their confidence in me to bring their respectful voices to the council.”
With his election, Talerico said he believes the residents of the borough were seeking a more politically diverse council.
“I believe that the residents do want new voices heard on council. I don’t think that it’s necessarily good to have a council made up of one party,” he said.
Talerico said he looks forward to making borough residents feel as though the council is there to serve them.
“I welcome them to come to meetings, ask questions. There is no such thing as too much public involvement,” Talerico said, adding that he will work to ensure transparency on the council as well.
“My big issue from day one two years ago was transparency, transparency, transparency,” Talerico said.
“I want people to know that I’m an open book. And the best way to ensure that I’m an open book is to come to council meetings and hold me accountable,” he added.
Like Talerico, Gonzalez said he is also proud to have been elected to the council.
“It feels great,” Gonzalez said. “I’m humbled that the town elected me, and I will do my best to represent the people of Eatontown.”
Gonzalez, who is vice president of the Board of Education, said he believes he was elected because of the message about — and promise of — tax decreases and fiscal responsibility his campaign made to residents of the borough.
“I think our message of decreasing taxes was what people obviously want to get done,” Gonzalez said. “They want their taxes lowered, they want someone who is going to spend their money wisely, and they want someone who is known to the community.
“I think it’s a call for smart fiscal responsibility,” he said. “That’s what I think this election was about. It’s about everyone’s taxes are going up.
“They want to make sure that there is accountability in terms of what’s going on with their tax dollars,” he added.
Gonzalez said he believes the current council has done a good job in serving the borough.
“I think the current council has done a very, very good job with getting the reassessment in order, looking at things like the pay-to-play ordinance, and I’m proud that I can be a part of that,” he said.
Gonzalez also said he believes his election was a reaction from the public to negative campaign advertisements circulating in the borough.
“I think it speaks to how the public is not going to be duped by negative campaigns,” he said.
With the elections over, Gonzalez said he is looking forward to working as a member of the council.
“My first action is to get in there and to see what’s going on with the reassessment and move forward from there,” he said.
“The reassessment is what we want to make sure gets completed thoroughly, and I want to work with the council to make sure that gets done for the sake of the taxpayers,” Gonzalez added.
Contact Daniel Howley at [email protected].