Special Election On Holmdel Government Charter Creates More Debate

HOLMDEL, NJ — The "yes" and "no" sides in the question to change locally elected government to a nonpartisan Council-Manager form are making last minute appeals to voters, as the special election comes on Tuesday.

Recommendations by the Holmdel Charter Study Commission call for a change to nonpartisan elections and a directly elected mayor. The question is now coming before voters.

One statement from a former committeewoman supports change; the other from the town's legislative delegation opposes change. Both deal with the political backdrop of the election.

On Thursday, former Holmdel Deputy Mayor and Township Committeewoman Cathy Weber, who recently resigned to move to New Hampshire, urged residents to vote "yes" to the Charter Study Commission recommendations. Weber, a Republican, won election to the Township Committee as an Independent.

"I have no stake in this election but can share that the forces opposing it will stop at nothing to get their way and that alone should raise the serious question of why this small group is so loud and obnoxious in their protest," she said.

She said the opponents "are the staunch supporters of the head of the county Republican party, Sheriff Shaun Golden, who rules with an iron fist."

"Even though I am a lifelong Republican, when I ran for office I was personally attacked, lies were thrown out and my signs were sandwiched by Golden signs so they were not visible, all because I chose to run as an Independent so that I would not have to make myself beholden to Sheriff Golden," she said.

Meanwhile, state Sen. Declan O' Scanlon, Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger and Assemblywoman Victoria Flynn, also Republicans, came out with their own letter Friday opposing a change in government form. Parts of the letter are included here:

"We believe that Holmdel became the beautiful and safe community it is today under its current form of government – why on earth would Holmdel abandon what has worked so incredibly well after all these years? We strongly advise our constituents in Holmdel to vote 'no' on Tuesday, July 26," the delegation said in a letter.

"While it has been challenging for the Township Committee to engage in a collaborative manner over the past few years, it has less to do with the form of government and more to do with the individual positions and agendas of some of the elected officials. A small group of people have used this challenging period to seek personal political gains by advocating for a change in government," the letter says, in part.

"Each local Republican Committee in Monmouth County engages in a vetting process to select local municipal candidates, not the county, and Holmdel is no exception," the letter says, regarding the role of Republican chairman Golden. Golden was not immediately available to comment.

But Weber's letter countered that position, saying "Holmdel is smarter than that and clearly voted me in over my Republican-endorsed opposition," she said in part.

She and her running mate who also ran as an Independent, Deputy Mayor Prakash Santhana, have "restored the township to an open and transparent process," she said. She, Santhana and Mayor Gregory Buontempo, who also was not supported by the regular county Republican party, have been aligned on the Township Committee.

"The only way to allow good people, who are not beholden to the county political machine, to run for office is to vote 'yes' on the Charter Study commission recommendation to create non-partisan elections," she said.

But the delegation members opposed to change maintain "the main purpose of establishing the Charter Commission was to destroy political parties in Holmdel, and in particular, the Holmdel Republican Committee."

Opponents of change also question the concept of a nonpartisan form of government: "Negating party affiliation only serves to reduce the information available to voters, which is inappropriate at this time when we need to ensure we are electing Republicans who are fiscally conservative in how they manage taxpayer dollars - candidates at the local level are no exception."

But Weber said candidates in a nonpartisan election can make their political leanings known to voters in many ways - through direct letters to residents, website information about their positions and more.

The value of the nonpartisan form of government is that "it takes away the power of the line." In a tightly controlled party system, the endorsed candidates get the first line in any ballot. "Other candidates are relegated to Siberia," she said in comments about her endorsement of the government change.

She said she won election in a unique set of circumstances, including that there was no Democrat running, the regular GOP candidate was weakened, and she was well-known in the township for her volunteer work and for her Republican values. Her team, she said "brought back volunteer committees to the township to increase public participation, including rejuvenating the Finance and Recreation Committees.

But opponents to change said in their letter: "Holmdel voters should be immediately suspicious of the recommendation of the Charter Commission, which purports to seek a form of government that is 'more responsible and accountable to the people,' and seek to make this monumental change via an election in the middle of the summer rather than during November’s general election."

The letter stated: "We have operated under a two-party system in this country long enough to know that, in moments of adversity, the passage of time can do wonders. What is needed to support Holmdel right now is patience. Forcing change is not the right approach."

Meanwhile, Larry Luttrell, the Democrat opposing Golden for a new term as Monmouth County Sheriff, said he too supports a "yes" vote on the move to a nonpartisan form of government.

"Partisan tribalism is destroying our country. People are fed up and it has no place in local government," the Holmdel resident said.

He also supports a directly elected mayor. "The mayor of a Township Committee has no executive powers like a traditional mayor. Rather, all executive decisions are done through the majority of the committee members. As a result, political bickering is inevitable and progress on executive decisions is thwarted by 'paralysis by analysis,'" Luttrell said.

Voting information

The town's Charter Study Commission was given the task by voters last year to study the existing form of government - A Township Committee with a weak mayor - and to make recommendations from that review.

In May, the commission, chaired by township resident Kin Gee, recommended a new form of municipal government that will put a Council-Manager form of government before voters. At that time it set the July 26 election day on the matter.

The public questions reads: "Shall the Council-Manager plan of the Optional Municipal Charter Law, providing for five council members to be elected at large for staggered terms at nonpartisan elections held in November, with the mayor elected directly by the voters, be adopted by the Township of Holmdel?" More information about the question to be voted on is also on the township website.

Voting has already begun on the question.

Mail-in ballots were sent to voters beginning June 10. While there is no in-person early voting in this special election, voters have the option to vote either by requesting a mail-in ballot with the County Clerk or voting in person at their designated polling location, according to Monmouth County Assistant Supervisor for Elections Cassandra Achille.

The polls will be open on July 26 from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m., she said.