ENGLISHTOWN – Three candidates who want to serve on the Englishtown Borough Council are seeking two Republican nominations in the June 8 primary.
All three GOP candidates whose names will appear on the June 8 ballot also ran for office in 2018.
According to the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office, Republicans Daniel Francisco, Maryanne Krawiec and William Lewis are running in a contested primary seeking two nominations.
The top two vote-getters in the primary election will appear on the ballot in the November general election when a pair of three-year terms will be up for grabs.
Francisco and Krawiec are current members of the Borough Council.
No Democrat filed a petition to run for municipal office this year. A Democrat could receive write-in votes in the primary election and earn a place on the November ballot.
An individual who wants to run for council as an independent candidate has until June 8 to file a nominating petition and secure a place on the November ballot.
All three Republicans previously faced off in the 2018 general election, although only Krawiec was with the GOP when she sought re-election that year. Francisco ran as a Libertarian and Lewis ran as an independent candidate. Krawiec was successful in her re-election bid.
The following year, 2019, Francisco was appointed as a Republican to fill a vacant seat on the Borough Council. This year, if Francisco wins in June and in November, he will secure his first three-year term on the governing body.
Francisco, who works in the energy sector, said he is seeking election to shrink the monopoly of government force as much as possible in the borough.
“There is enormous human potential and great relationships ready to grow in Englishtown,” he said. “Our town needs to become a hopeful beacon for liberty-minded people within a broader cultural environment that dangerously worships state force.”
Lewis works as a chief engineer for a data center in New Jersey.
“I have been a participant in observing the way things are conducted by our Borough Council since becoming an Englishtown resident several years ago,” Lewis said.
“As the father of five young boys and being a coach for their teams, I have received a lot of feedback from my neighbors and friends in town. Our residents want change, they currently don’t feel listened to. They want elected leaders to hear from them and act upon their thoughts.
“I would like to be that leader and work with the community. I want to leverage my local relationships and professional experience to help improve our borough for the years to come.
“Englishtown needs to be more hospitable to businesses and residents. Ask yourself if you are happy with our community’s downtown and overall quality of life. If not, I hope to listen to you, be your voice and make sure our municipal government does everything it can to make it hospitable,” Lewis said.
Krawiec did not respond to a request for comment.
Republicans hold all six Borough Council seats and the mayor’s office in Englishtown.