BERKELEY – Councilman John Bacchione will be Berkeley Township’s new mayor in January.
Bacchione, a Republican, won with 9,137 votes over Democrat Kia Phua’s 3,099 votes. There were nine write-ins.
Bacchione’s slate included Republicans Thomas Grosse, 8,697 votes; Keith Buscio, 8,830 votes, and Douglas Bowens, 8,575 votes. They beat Democrats Mary Curtis, 3,286 votes; Thomas White, 3,228 votes, and Frank DeMaio, 3,321 votes. There were 14 write-ins.
“I’m extremely pleased the voters overwhelmingly supported Council President John Bacchione to be our next mayor,” Senator-elect Carmen Amato said.
“Mayor-Elect Bacchione has the experience and knowledge to continue to move Berkeley Township forward in a positive direction. I look forward to working closely with the mayor-elect, on a smooth transition,” he added.
For the Board of Education race, the three candidates were unchallenged. The winners were incumbents Jennifer Bacchione, 7,167 votes; Thomas Guarascio, 6,581 votes; and Dave Ytreboe, 6,408 votes. There were 226 write-ins.
The numbers in this article are considered unofficial until the County Board of Elections certifies the results, which takes a few weeks.
Beachwood
Republican Councilman and former police chief William Cairns ran unopposed for mayor, garnering 1,410 votes. There were 92 write-ins.
There were two council seats on the ballot. Republicans Steven Komsa, a Councilman, got 1,240 votes and Thomas Prince got 1,340 votes. They were challenged by Democrat Jennifer McCave, who got 713 votes. There were 96 write-ins.
Central Regional
There were two Central Regional School District races this year.
The Ocean Gate representative will be John Serpica, who ran unopposed and got 323 votes. There were 23 write-ins.
The Seaside Park representative is yet to be named. No one filed to run by the deadline, but there were 106 write-in votes. The County Board of Elections said that the results will be released when the election is certified, which takes a few weeks after election day.
Ocean Gate
There were two, three-year Borough council spots on the ballot. They went to Republicans Richard P. Zieser, Sr., 287 votes; and Mark Haug, 312 votes. They beat Democrat Dennis J. O’Leary, Jr., 249 votes. There were 10 write-ins.
There was also a one-year Borough Council seat on the ballot. That went to Republican James Fry with 357 votes. There were 13 write-ins.
There were two spots available on the Ocean Gate local Board of Education. Richard Casey, 271 votes; and Kerrie McDonnell, 226 votes; ran unopposed. There were 142 write-ins.
Pine Beach
The mayor of Pine Beach will continue to be Republican Lawrence Cuneo who got 496 votes. He ran unopposed. There were 21 write-ins.
Republicans Richard “Ritty” Polhemus, 416 votes; and Lori Ann McGee, 424 votes won their council race over independent Eric Hess, 315 votes. There were eight write-ins.
South Toms River
There were two full term council seats on the ballot and they went to Republicans Ed Murray, 295 votes; and Sandford Ross, 304 votes. They bested Gigi Esparza, 139 votes; and Robert Hailey, 122 votes. There were six write-ins.
There was also a one-year unexpired term on the ballot. Republican Kayla Rolzhausen won that with 322 votes. She ran unopposed. There were seven write-ins.
