Perry/Kratz Lead Middletown Twp. Committee Race, Plus BOE Results

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Republicans Tony Perry and his running mate Kimberly Kratz are strongly leading the Middletown Township Committee by late Tuesday night.

Perry/Kratz were the expected winners, as Middletown is a Republican-majority town.

But no vote tallies are official until they are certified. Also, counting mail-in ballots will take a few days.

"While there are votes still being counted, I am so honored to be re-elected to the Middletown Township Committee," tweeted Perry Tuesday night.

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Democrat Rocky Rios campaigned earnestly, but his running mate Nicholas Babcock abruptly stopped campaigning when it was brought to light that he had a criminal record in Arizona. The Middletown Democratic Party first denied he had a criminal record, and threatened to sue Patch for publishing the story, but then said it was for bouncing two checks.

Middletown Township Committee: (voters asked to choose two):

Current Mayor Tony Perry (Republican): 16,338

Kimberly Kratz (Republican): 16,103

Democrat Rocky Rios: 7,346

Nicholas Babcock (Democrat): 7,272

Middletown school board: (voters are asked to choose three)

Kate Farley: 12,065

Current BOE president Joan Minnuies: 11,896

Current BOE member Deborah Wright: 10,772

Jaime Sanacore: 7,085

Write in: 1,692

Farley/Sanacore ran as highly critical of Gov. Phil Murphy's school mask mandate. They also said schools were closed for too long last year and promised to fight any return to virtual learning.

Minnuies, Farley and Sanacore all said they think Middletown's current quarantine policy needs to be reduced. Minnuies also thinks masks should be optional.

Wright appeared as the only candidate who is not critical of Murphy; she supports mask mandates in schools and she said she supports Middletown's quarantine policy as it stands.

All The Q&As With Middletown Board Of Education Candidates

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