Dennis Pavlik Seeks Upset On Holmdel Township Committee

HOLMDEL, NJ — On Tuesday, June 6, you won't just get to pick who you want to run for New Jersey governor. It's also the primary for who runs for the Holmdel Township Committee this fall.

There are two seats open on the Holmdel Township Committee this year. There will be four names on the ballot in November, two Democratic candidates and two Republican candidates. Lawrence Luttrell and Barbara Singer are running as the two Democrats.

But the Republican side is where it gets interesting: Current Mayor Gregory Buontempo and Dr. Rocco Pascucci are running together to fill them as Republicans. However, Dennis Pavlik is running as a Republican as well. It will be interesting to see whether Pavlik will be able to get more votes than either Buontempo or Pascucci to make it on the ballot.

"I wouldn't call this an upset but ... I just got my two hips replaced and I have a whole new outlook on life," said Pavlik on Thursday. "I'm being really positive and just giving it a shot. In fact, how I'm healing from hip-replacement surgery is going out there and introducing myself to Holmdel residents."

For some, Pavlik may need no introductions. He's no stranger to Holmdel politics. Pavlik and his wife have lived in Holmdel for 18 years and he's coached Holmdel's travel softball leagues, and basketball. His two daughters attend Indian Hill and Holmdel High. He's a police officer in Bergen County. Pavlik served on the Holmdel School Board for six years before he lost his seat last year.

He also made headlines last year when he and another school board member Ana Vander Woude were censured for what the state deemed was incorrectly bringing up a sensitive staffing issue in a public forum at a Board of Ed. meeting three years ago.

Today, Pavlik continues to defend what he and Vander Woude did and said he has always acted honestly.

"I have integrity and sometimes that integrity gets you in trouble but hey, there you go," he said.

Buontempo currently sits on the Township Committee and is running to be re-elected; Rocco Pascucci was a member of the Township Committee a few years ago. Rocco's wife, Phyllis Pascucci, has served as a member of the Holmdel school board.

Read more here: 2 Holmdel Board of Ed. Members Found Guilty of Ethics Violations, State Finds

Holmdel GOP Announces Candidates