Crate Fends Off Catalano For Brick Mayor's Seat: Unofficial Results

Updated, 10 p.m.

BRICK, NJ — Lisa Crate has fought off a challenge from Republican John Catalano in the race for Brick Township mayor, according to unofficial results.

With 57 of 57 districts reporting, Crate had received 10,978 votes, and Catalano had 7,626 according to the unofficial tallies posted to the Ocean County Clerk's election website.

In the race for four Township Council seats, the four Democratic candidates were leading the four Republican candidates. Democrat Melissa Travers had 9,396 votes, leading all of the council candidates. Vince Minichino had 9,351, Derrick Ambrosino had 9,319, and Steve Feinman had 9,044, according to the unofficial tallies. Feinman had a 237-vote lead over Theresa Gallagher, the top Republican, who had 8,807 votes. James Palmisano had 8,615, Mary Jonas Buckley had 8,567, and Rocco Palmieri had 8,543, according the the unofficial votes.

The results remain unofficial until they are certified by the Ocean County Clerk by Nov. 22.

In the race for two seats on the Board of Education, Alison Kennedy, who was appointed to a seat earlier this year, was leading all four candidates with 8,323 votes. Mike Mesmer, one of the challengers, was second with 6,865. Michael Blandina, who was seeking a second term, had 6,308, and Gregory Cohen was fourth with 5,381, according to the unofficial totals.

The Republicans had been hoping to retake control of the mayor's office and council since John Ducey stepped down in January as mayor to become a Superior Court judge.

The only Republican currently on the council is Perry Albanese.

The Democrats and Republicans have traded accusations over property taxes the entire campaign.

Democratic mailers have accused Catalano of being part of the council that raised taxes in 2011, when Stephen Acropolis was mayor. Catalano, who served on the Brick Housing Authority at the time, was appointed to the council in August 2011 and served until December 2011.

The tax increase was approved by township voters via a 2011 referendum, after Acropolis warned that dozens of employees, including police officers, would be laid off because of an $8.6 million budget shortfall and a 2 percent cap on property tax levy increases instituted under then-Gov. Chris Christie.

Township officials at the time blamed the shortfall on declining revenue, according to a Patch report. At the Oct. 24 council meeting, Republicans speaking during public comment blamed the 2011 referendum on former Mayor Joseph Scarpelli, who resigned in 2006 and pleaded guilty to taking $5,000 in bribes from a developer shortly afterward. Acropolis was elected in 2007 and was in his fourth year as mayor at the time of the referendum.

Acropolis then angered township employees and taxpayers in 2012 when he announced plans to eliminate the public works department to cut property taxes.

The Republicans have attacked Crate in particular, accusing her of ethics violations over campaign mailers and criticizing her role as the president of the teachers union in the Jackson Township Schools. Questions from Patch asking for specifics and clarification of the alleged ethical violation were not answered.

In the school board election, incumbents Michael Blandina and Alison Kennedy face challengers Mike Mesmer and Gregory Cohen. Blandina is a commissioner on the Brick MUA and involved with multiple civic organizations. Kennedy was a PTA president in the district for several years before being appointed to a vacated seat this year.

Cohen, a former bus driver in the district who now is transportation director in the West Orange schools, has criticized the board over a lack of buses for after-school activities, even as the district and districts across New Jersey continue to face a shortage of drivers. He and Mesmer also have criticized the board over the controversial parental notification policy regarding transgender students that has resulted in some districts being sued by the state of New Jersey. The Brick Township schools have not enacted that policy.

Mesmer and Cohen have been openly endorsed by the Brick GOP, in spite of the fact that school boards are supposed to be nonpartisan entities.

The results of the election do not become official until they are certified by the Ocean County Clerk.

With 57 of 57 districts reporting

The mayoral candidates' totals:

• John Catalano 7,626
• Lisa Crate 10,978

The council candidates' totals:

• Mary Jonas Buckley 8,567
• Theresa Gallagher 8,807
• James Palmisano 8,615
• Rocco Palmieri 8,543
• Vince Minichino 9,351
• Derrick Ambrosino 9,319
• Steve Feinman 9,044
• Melissa Travers 9,396

The school board candidates' totals:

• Alison Kennedy 8,323
• Mike Mesmer 6,865
• Gregory Cohen 5,381
• Michael Blandina 6,308