Republican Party Split In Holmdel Primary This July

HOLMDEL, NJ — In the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, who can forget 2020 is an election year? While neighboring towns will have sleepy primaries this July 7, Holmdel — as always — keeps things interesting.

There are two open seats on the Holmdel Township Committee, with six candidates running. Current committeeman (and mayor) Greg Buontempo is seeking to keep his seat while his ally, longtime Committeeman Rocco Pascucci, decided he will not seek re-election this year.

Two "We the People" Republicans in the race

That's why Buontempo has a new running mate in Ron Emma, and they have broken off from the powerful Monmouth County Republican Party, to form the new ticket "We the People." (Emma and Buontempo are both Republicans.)

Buontempo said he split from the Monmouth County Republican Organization after they continued to support former mayor Eric Hinds throughout his censure investigation last year. Hinds was reprimanded by the rest of the Township Committee over allegations that he misdirected taxpayer money for turf fields, and in November he endured a stunning loss in his re-election attempt. (Hinds maintains he did nothing improper; he is a Holmdel native who is still supported by many in town.)

Buontempo said there is "momentum" that came from the Hinds fiasco, and he wants to continue it.

"We want to continue the momentum started for an open and transparent governing body," he said in a statement Friday. "Republican primary voters know the difference between us and our opponents (who) are associated with Township Committeemen that have acted in unethical ways."

"As Holmdel knows, I have stood up for taxpayers and investigated the unethical actions by Mayor Hinds and Committeeman Critelli, despite political pressure from the establishment to look the other way," he said. (Critelli remains a Hinds supporter, as well.)

Two Monmouth County Republicans in the race

Who is running on the official Monmouth County GOP party line? That would be Victoria 'Vicky' Flynn, who is currently president of the Holmdel Board of Education, and running mate Domenico 'DJ' Luccarelli.

Marcy McMullen, chair of the Holmdel Republican Party, is backing Flynn and Luccarelli.

"This year the county committee decided that a fresh start was needed," said McMullen. "The committee was proud to nominate two extraordinarily qualified candidates who exemplify what Holmdel stands for: Flynn and Luccarelli."

"During my tenure on the Board, we have engaged in long-range planning to enhance the school district's curriculum, increase technology and expand upon our athletics and extracurricular programs," said Flynn, when asked Friday why she is running. "We also had the foresight to ask our community to support the modernization of our school facilities so our children can meet the challenges of the 21st century. I now see an opportunity to extend that same forward-looking approach to address the public policy issues facing the Township."

Luccarelli was born and raised in Holmdel.

"I believe now more than ever that there is a need for strong and collaborative leadership to address the issues facing the Township," he said. "Vicky and I share the belief that it is important to give back to our community."

Two Democrats in the race

Not to be outdone, there are also two Democrats running, Joseph Romano and Mike Jenkins (write-in candidate), running with the backing of the Monmouth County Democratic Party.

For his part, Romano said he decided to run after experiencing an attempted home break-in shortly after relocating to Holmdel from Staten Island (they moved here for the schools, he said).

"That really shook us. After that happened, I started to want to get involved more around town. In my case, the Holmdel PD did a thorough investigation; I was impressed by their professionalism and I want to be in a position where I can help expand the resources available to them," said Romano.

Romano also commented on the current Republican Party divide in Holmdel. He criticized all the Republicans in Holmdel, and said taxpayers were hurt by Republican Party infighting.

"There was also a lot of political drama in Holmdel last year — really toxic," he continued. "Infighting among the town council, issues with the administrator, issues with the mayor, the turf field survey. We were pretty disappointed with it all. The Holmdel Republicans haven’t been fiscally responsible; that’s a big issue I want to change. It’s a shame how much taxpayer money was just wasted on nothing over personal issues among the individuals in town leadership positions."

"Unfortunately, I still see a lot of political drama. There’s still a split and I think that’s bad news for Holmdel," he said. "It’s been a long time since Democrats have been on the town council and I think we need that now."

The primary election has been pushed back to July 7; the general election is in November.

Correction: Patch initially reported the Holmdel Republican Party is supporting Buontempo and Emma. That is not correct. The Holmdel Republican Party is supporting Lucarelli and Flynn, said Marcy McMullen, chairwoman of the Holmdel Republican Party.