Republicans Keep Control In Holmdel

HOLMDEL, NJ — They tried yet again, but Democrats failed to wrest control from the Republicans in Holmdel in Tuesday's election.

Democrats Larry Luttrell and Barbara Singer have tried multiple times now to unseat Republicans in Holmdel on both the Township Committee and the Board of Education, but they continue to be unsuccessful. Current Holmdel Mayor Greg Buontempo was able to retain his seat yesterday, and Dr. Rocco Pascucci was voted back onto the Township Committee. This is at least Luttrell's third time seeking public office; he ran for both Township Committee and Freeholder in the past. This is Singer's second attempt at elected office in Holmdel. The Township Committee remains all Republican.

As they have been in past years, the vote was extremely close: Buontempo won by a mere 358 votes. He pointed out that it's actually been even closer in previous years.

Nov. 7, 2017 Holmdel municipal race results:

Gregory BUONTEMPO (R) 27.17% 2,615 votes
Rocco F. PASCUCCI (R) 26.76% 2,576 votes
Larry LUTTRELL (D) 23.45% 2,257 votes
Barbara SINGER (D) 22.57% 2,173

"I'm tired but happy," said Buontempo on Wednesday. "I was nervous. You're never fully confident going into an election."

There's been a tense power struggle between the Holmdel Republican Party and Holmdel Democrats for years now, and it only appears to be getting tenser. On Wednesday, Buontempo accused Singer and Luttrell of running a smear campaign, and of outside Democratic interests in New Jersey trying to sway Holmdel's election.

"This was probably the most heavily funded campaign the Democrats have had in Holmdel in years," Buontempo said. "They had four or five mailers they put out. The amount of money they spent on those mailers and glossies — you're talking thousands of dollars had to be poured in to fund something like that."

He also said the fliers put out by Luttrell and Singer eerily resembled fliers also seen in some Bergen County towns this election season. (Note: The Holmdel Democratic Party did not return Patch's request for comment Wednesday.)

"It certainly could be outside interests in the Democratic organization trying to get a seat in Holmdel," he said. "We're doing a lot of things in town that the residents want and desire. It's the first time in three decades we haven't had a tax increase and we were able to do that without cutting services. So other than sending out attack mailers lying about multi-story buildings going up in town, they ran a campaign based on fear. It's hard to combat an incumbent when they're doing a good job."

Buontempo and Pascucci are pictured above in their campaign photo.