Middletown Mayor Tony Perry Will Run For Monmouth County Commissioner Seat

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Middletown Mayor Tony Perry is definitely running for the Monmouth County Commissioner seat currently held by Ross Licitra.

Licitra announced earlier this March will not seek re-election this year.

The Hazlet Republican Organization posted on Facebook Wednesday that Perry intends to run for the seat. Previously, Perry had been named as a possible top contender for the seat, but he never publicly said whether he was going to run or not. When Patch asked him two weeks ago, Perry said he had not yet made up his mind.

The election for Monmouth County Commissioner will be in November. If Perry wins the seat, he will have to resign as Middletown Mayor, and a member of the Middletown Township Committee.

There will then be an election for his seat.

Perry is a Republican and so is Licitra. The current Monmouth County Commissioners — Tom Arnone, Erik Anderson, former Hazlet Mayor Sue Kiley and Dominick DiRocco — are all Republican.

Anderson will run this year for re-election, joined by Perry as the two Republican candidates. The two Democrats running for the County Commissioner seats are Chelsey Tanner and Sofia Ugarte.

Perry has been the Republican mayor of Middletown for the past seven years: He was first elected to the Middletown Twp. Committee in 2018 and he became Middletown Mayor in 2019. The Middletown Twp. Committee chooses a mayor.

Licitra plans to remain executive director of the Monmouth County SPCA, a position for which he is paid $132,000 a year.

Monmouth Commissioner Ross Licitra, Who Told Employee He Was 'Stupid,' Won't Seek Re-Election (March 3)

In 2025, Perry was almost chosen to be the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor for Jack Ciattarelli, who instead chose Morris County Sheriff Jim Gannon as his running mate for lieutenant governor. Perry and Ciattarelli are friends.