The Primaries Are Under Way: Local Seats Face No Opposition

With the polls open for registered Republicans and Democrats in both Barnegat and Manahawkin today, 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., nominees for three-year term governing body seats in both towns are not facing much of a contest in the primaries, though there will be more competition in the general election.

Barnegat

In Barnegat, with , former mayor and current township committeman Jeffrey Melchiondo and current mayor Al Cirulli, who have been serving on the committee since 2004, are running on the same Republican ticket, both seats uncontested in this primary.

Cirulli works as a vice principal at the Pinelands Regional High School and Melchiondo, who is a former president of the local Chamber of Commerce and is currenlty an economic development liaison, owns a cigar shop downtown.

“I’ve served on virtually every board or commission that the town has offered — Historic Preservation, Planning Board, Economic Development, Cox Commission, you name it," Melchiondo told Patch two months ago. I’ve also been a police department liaison for the last seven years.”

Two newcomer Democrats, Elaine Taylor and Susan Conway are running together as a team, also unopposed. Taylor is a former Board of Education member and stay-at-home mother and Conway, who grew up in Barnegat, works as an attorney in Northern New Jersey. Conway served on a charter commission to re-examine the form of government in town several years ago.

The two Democrats will discuss the transparency and openess of the township committee and attracting more ratables to Barnegat, among other issues.

"Our slogan is progress not politics," said Taylor. "If I’m elected, the first thing I’d like to do is make everything more open."

We will bring you more information on each candidate as we get closer to November, when the Republican incumbents and the Democrat challengers will face off in the general election.

Manahawkin

Stafford Township is holding the first partisan primary in more than 30 years, according to the municipal clerk Bernadette Park. Current Mayor John Spodofora is facing no Republican opposition, but will run against a Democrat candidate Joseph Rua in November.

Rua is also facing no opposition from his own party.

Spodofora, who was elected to the township council in 1988, and served on several boards, including the Environmental Commission and the Zoning Board, worked as an engineer for the Naval Engineering station in Lakehurst. Spodofora was elected in the last general election last year, filling the unexpired term of former mayor John McMenamin.

In addition to the mayoral seat, three township council members are running for re-election this year.   

Councilman William Stephen Fessler, (R), is a former Stafford School Board member, who works at 84 Lumber Company.

Councilman Henry Mancini is the owner of a real estate valuing and consulting firm in Manahawkin, Henry J Mancini & Associates, a commissioner of the Ocean County Library system and a board member of the Ocean County Health Department.

Council president Robert Kusznikow describes himself as "soldier,"  "a ship's captain," "a business owner" and an incredibly well-rounded individual. Kusznikow's bio on the Stafford Township website indicates he served as a combat veteran withMarine Corps from 1966 to 1971. 

Kusznikow is the only candidate among the inciumbent Republicans who has not received endorsement from his party in this election.

In addition, three newcomers are running for the council seats uncontested: Sharon McKenna, Lori Wyrsch and Paul Krier.

All of the nominees running for the township council in this primary are Republicans, except Rua, who is a Democrat running for mayor.

We will bring you more information on each candidate as we get closer to the general election.

County, state and national choices

On the county level, the current Ocean County Sheriff William L Polhemus is running uncontested for primary Republican re-election, along with incumbent Freeholders John C. Bartlett, Jr. and Gerry P. Little.

Among the Democrats, George Cevasco and Bonnie Verga are running together, uncontested, in a race for freeholders, while George "Bob" Armstrong is running for Sheriff, uncontested among the Democrats.  

Running for the U.S. Senate are Joe "Rudy" Rullo, Bader G. Qarmout, Joe Kyrillos and David Douglas Brown. Republican candidates for U.S. House of Representatives are incumbent Frank A. LoBiondo and Mike Assad, and Democratic candidates for U.S. House of Representatives are Cassandra Shober, Viola Hughes and Gary Stein.

Former Governor of Massachusetts Mitt Romney, a candidate endorsed by the Republicans of Ocean County, is running in a presidential primary against Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich (home state of Georgia), U.S. Congressman Ron Paul of Texas and former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania.