Monmouth County primary election: Close GOP nod for Howell mayor, Neptune Democrats split

Tuesday was primary election day in New Jersey with contested federal, county and municipal races.

In Monmouth County, there were contested Republican primaries in Howell, Manalapan, Matawan, Rumson and Sea Bright, and a contested Democratic race in Neptune. The results include all early voting and election day ballots, late mail-in ballots and provisional ballots are still pending.

In Howell, mayoral candidate John Leggio is leading the Republican nomination for mayor with 1,884 votes over incumbent Deputy Mayor Ian Nadel, who had the county party endorsement and received 1,818 votes, and Committeeman Fred Gasior with 535 votes.

Leggio told the Press "this is the first step in making serious change here in Howell Township."

"We have had the same old guard here for many years and I feel that they are not producing results for the taxpayers. That is one of the main reasons I got involved in the race," Leggio said.

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Leggio has served on the planning board since 2020. In 2021, when then-Deputy Mayor Thomas Russo resigned, Leggio was one of three names provided by the Howell GOP to fill the vacant seat, but Suzanne M. Brennan was chosen instead. Last year, Leggio crossed party lines when the Republican-controlled council failed to reappoint him to the Planning Board, but he accepted the planning board appointment as the Democratic mayor's designee.

"I have been involved for quite a few years now and have seen the games they play at the committee level, up at that county, how they control everything. They put in who they want to put in and the voters don't get a choice. So this was really important this time that Ian and Fred did not win because they would've just backfilled the seat," Leggio said. "We did not want some puppet coming out of the county backfilling the seat without the voters getting a choice."

He added "that is really the issue here, this whole line thing needs to disappear."

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"The people should decide who represents them in the town, not the group of people with an agenda. It is ridiculous. That is why I stuck my neck out. I put a huge target on my back, and we sent a message tonight. In November when I win again, we are going to send another message and that is how we are going to do this," Leggio said.

Incumbent Mayor Theresa Berger, a Democrat, is not seeking reelection this year. Matthew Filosa ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination for mayor.

Longtime Councilwoman Evelyn Malsbury O’Donnell ran unopposed for the Republican nomination for the one full-term on the township council, and Rebecca Scott ran unopposed for the Democratic nomination.

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Neptune Township incumbents Kevin McMillan and Derel M. Stroud are leading in the race for the Democratic nominations for two Township Committee seats with 1,373 votes and 1,124 votes respectively. Challengers Jason Allen Jones received 1,049 votes and Bryan Acciani received 866 votes.

"I think it is a big win. I am going to work hard for the voters of Neptune," McMillan said. "I would like to thank the other candidates who did run because working in a campaign is hard work, but I thank the voters of Neptune for giving me an opportunity to serve again."

Stroud and Jones ran together on a ticket endorsed by the Neptune Township Democrats, while McMillan shared a ticket with Acciani. The two will represent the local Democrats against Republicans Rachael Stolte and Jessica Ford in the November general election.

In Manalapan, challenger Robert Gregowicz beat incumbent Committeeman Barry Jacobson for the Republican nomination for a Township Committee seat by a vote of 1,527 to 436.

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Rumson incumbents John J. Conklin III and Sarah H. Pomphrey beat challengers Stephanie L. Hoitt and Peter S. Izzo for two council seat nominations for the Republicans. Conklin received 846 votes and Pomphrey received 811 votes while Hoitt received 573 votes and Izzo received 593 votes.

Sea Bright incumbents William J. Keeler and Erwin Bieber beat challenger Jeffrey M. Booker for the two Republican nominations for council. Keeler received 113 votes, Bieber received 123 votes and Booker received 81 votes with all districts reporting.

Challenger Suzanne Reynolds and incumbent Charles Ross are leading the Republican nomination for two Matawan council seats. Ross is leading with 267 votes and Reynolds received 235 votes. Incumbent Melanie S. Wang received 158 votes.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Monmouth County election results, primary 2024