Area voters to head to polls Tuesday
Council seats are up for election throughout Sussex County as voters will decide whether to re-elect incumbents or to inject new blood onto area township and borough councils and boards of education.
There also are countywide elections and voters will decide whether to re-elect Gov. Chris Christie and vote on several countywide elections.
Franklin
Three candidates are named on the ballot for two open seats on Franklin’s Borough Council.
Republican Nicholas Giordano will be the sole incumbent to defend his position, while Republican David Fanale and Democrat Patricia Rowett will look to gain the open seats.
Wallkill Valley Regional High School Board President Ronald Neal will defend his Franklin seat on the board against Thomas Kabatra.
Franklin Borough’s Board of Education has three three-year seats open, which Board Vice President Louise Murphy and incumbent Jeanine Paszkiel hope to retain. No petition has been filed for the third seat. A one-year unexpired term also is open, and incumbent Michael Payton will be named on the ballot.
Hamburg
Neither of Hamburg’s expiring council incumbents made it past this year’s preliminary, so two seats will be contested by relative newcomers.
Council Vice President John Burd and former Councilman Chris Kelly will run on the Republican ticket and Thomas Watts and William Cunningham will run as Democrats.
Incumbents Charlotte Ambrose, Seila Frayko and Patricia Harby are running unopposed for three seats on the Hamburg Borough Board of Education. An unexpired one-year term is also up for grabs, but no petition has been filed.
Hardyston
While Hardyston’s Township Council incumbent Republicans Stanley Kula and Santo Verrilli are running unopposed for their expiring seats, the municipal school election is a much more open contest.
Robert Roof is the sole incumbent running for three three-year seats on the Hardyston Township Board of Education. Danuta Carey will run for one seat and no petition has been filed for the third seat. A one-year unexpired term also is up for grabs, which no petition has been filed for.
Incumbent Robert Carlson will run for his Hardyston seat on the Wallkill Valley Regional High School Board of Education.
Lafayette
Republican incumbents Rich Bruning and Richard Hughes will face off against Democratic newcomer Jamie Lombardi for their two expiring seats on the Lafayette Township Committee.
Lafayette will have a new face on the High Point Regional High School Board of Education as Barbara Miller’s seat will be contested by Todd Miller and Michel Clifford Malone.
Three contestants are running for the three open seats on the Lafayette Township Board of Education, including incumbent Tracy McBride Mustachio, Alton Hunter and Mary Flaherty.
Ogdensburg
Ogdensburg will likely see a new face on its Common Council as incumbent Robert McGuire and newcomer Regina Rizzo, both Republicans, will be named on the ballot for the two open seats.
Incumbent Frank Sanfilippo will face off against Jim Lame for the open Ogdensburg seat on the Wallkill Valley Regional High School Board of Education.
The ballot remains status quo for the Ogdensburg Board of Education, as Board Vice President Peter Egan and incumbent Mary Fitzgibbons will vie for the two expiring three-year terms.
Sussex County
There is one countywide election up for grabs as Republican Gary R. Chiusano is defending his position against Strength and Honor candidate Robert Morris.
Sheriff Michael Strada is running unopposed in his re-election bid, while Republicans Richard Vohden and George Graham are running unopposed for their county freeholder positions.
New Jersey
On the state level, voters will decide whether to give incumbent Republican governor Chris Christie another four years in office.
He is facing challenges from Democrat Barbara Buono. Steven Welzer (Green), William Araujo (Peace and Freedom), ne W. Sare (Glass-Steagall Now), Jeff Boss (NSA Did 911), Kenneth R. Kaplan (Libertarian) and Hank Schroeder (Economic Growth) also are on the ballot.
For state Senate, Republican Steven V. Oroho is facing a challenge from Democrat Richard D. Tomko.
In the General Assembly, incumbent Republicans Alison Littell McHose and F. Parker Space will face challenges from Democrats Susan M. Williams and William Weightman.