MANCHESTER – Three mayoral candidates and two council candidates will appear on ballots this fall. The council candidates are seeking to retain their seats in the township.
The township’s form of government does not have primaries for municipal races but instead has a petition system requiring candidates to sign up to support their person on the ballot. Therefore, even though the candidates are affiliated with political parties, their parties won’t be on the ballots.
Republican Mayor Joseph Hankins filed his petition of signatures to secure a spot on the November 3 ballot on July 10.
He was appointed to fill the spot of Mayor Robert Arace when Arace resigned after just two years to become a member of the Ocean County Board of Commissioners. Hankins won an interim term and is now seeking a full term as mayor. He has the support of the township’s Republican Club.
The lifelong resident spent 25 years as a township police officer serving a patrolman, detective and sergeant. He also served as the Manchester Township fire chief and worked as an emergency medical technician and SCUBA captain.
He currently serves as the vice president of the New Jersey State Fireman’s association and is running for the Association’s presidency. The mayor holds a master’s degree in public administration and is an advocate for education and leadership. Hankins is backed by the township’s Republican Club.
Mariah Prokop is also a lifelong township resident who is running as a self-funded candidate focused on local grassroots engagement. Her community involvement includes actively participating in local civic discussions, including engaging with residents on social media regarding town issues and the role of autonomous local entities like the zoning and planning boards.
She runs her own business, the DeFelice Realty Group LLC. She said she is running for mayor because “Manchester needs a positive change and leadership that listens to its residents. Together we can build a better Manchester, transparent, straight forward leadership.” She also wants responsible growth that is carefully thought out.
Also running is Ken Seda, who ran for mayor in 2022 as part of a three-way mayoral race between incumbent Mayor Robert Hudak and challenger Robert Arace.
Hudak had led the three-way race with about 44.3% of the vote (7,570 votes), followed by Robert Arace and Ken Seda. Because no candidate secured a majority, the top candidates advanced to a December 2022 runoff election. Arace ultimately defeated Hudak by a narrow margin of 362 votes to win the mayoral seat.
When Seda ran previously, he said “my whole life has been about service. I’ll be a full-time mayor and the buck stops with me. We will work together to get things done.” Seda vowed at the time that if elected he would do a full audit and review municipal spending and would focus on solving the cell phone service issue. He added that he would look at bringing needed ratables to the community. Seda has been endorsed by the Manchester Democratic Club.
Two Republican councilwomen – Sandy Drake who was appointed last year and won her interim term and newly appointed Judy Noonan who joined the dais after Councilwoman Roxy Conniff resigned last spring – are seeking full terms on council.
Both are active in the community. Drake is a former police officer who supports PBA and police programs and is very active with the Manchester Little League.
Noonan, a former Committeewoman of Berkeley Township moved to Manchester several years ago and immediately became active within the community and was quite vocal about her observations during council meetings. She rose to serve as Mayor Arace’s confidential aide and later as Hankins’s confidential aide and served as liaison to the township’s senior services office.
Both council candidates are running unopposed.
The Manchester Times will be profiling the candidates in future editions regarding details of their past, experience, and positions on crucial issue of the township.
