Republican duo defeats Manalapan incumbents

BY DAVE BENJAMIN
& MARK ROSMAN
Staff Writers

Republicans Joseph Locricchio and Andrew Lucas soundly defeated incumbent Democrats Beth Ward and Michelle Roth to win a pair of seats on the Manal-apan Township Committee in the Nov. 2 election.

The winners will be sworn in to their three-year terms in January.

Roth was appointed to the committee this year to fill an open seat. Ward is completing her first term on the governing body and serving as Manal-apan’s mayor this year.

Locricchio was making his second bid for public office, having narrowly lost his first bid for a committee seat to Democrat Drew Shapiro in the 2003 election.

Lucas was seeking office for the first time.

The Republicans appeared to ride a wave of GOP popularity that saw Republican Presi-dent George W. Bush outpoll Democratic U.S. Sen. John Kerry 8,687 to 7,544 in Manal-apan.

Locricchio and Lucas won election with 8,852 and 8,550 votes, respectively. Roth and Ward trailed with 6,546 and 6,488 votes, respectively.

Asked what his reaction was as the results came in and the outcome of the election became apparent, Locricchio said, “We were extremely happy. It was good to see that the people rallied behind us. The people have placed their trust and confidence in us and now we have to justify that. We intend to work hard to prove ourselves worthy of their choice.”

The Republicans made Man-alapan’s financial health the centerpiece of their campaign over the past two months. Letters to the editor, newspaper advertisements and campaign literature sent to residents claimed the all-Democratic Township Committee has placed Manalapan on the brink of insolvency, in part by borrowing against school taxes that have been collected for the Freehold Regional High School District.

Asked if having the opportunity to be on the inside and to closely examine the township’s financial records will be his first order of business, Locricchio said he and Lucas will have “two No. 1 priorities — reviewing the financial structure of the town and addressing the overbuilding of residential units.”

On its face, the committee will still have a Democratic majority when it reorganizes for 2005 in January. Locricchio and Lucas will join Democrats Drew Shapiro, Rebecca Aaronson and William Scherer on the governing body.

In practice, however, things may not be so clear-cut. Scherer has not gone along with his fellow Democrats on every issue that has come before the governing body. An alliance among Locricchio, Lucas and Scherer — if one was to develop — could make the two newcomers more than just a minority voice in their first year on the committee.

Three days after the election, however, Locricchio said he had not given any thought as to who he will support for mayor in 2005.

Under the Township Committee form of government, residents do not directly elect Manalapan’s mayor. The five members of the governing body choose who among them will serve as mayor for the year when the committee reorganizes in January. Scherer, now in his second term, has never been selected by his fellow Democrats to serve as Manalapan’s mayor.

Locricchio said he is willing “to reach across the aisle in order to put people first.”

“I can work with anyone as long as they are willing to put the residents of Manalapan first,” he said, adding, “I want to thank Mrs. Ward and Mrs. Roth for their service to the community and wish them and their families the best.”

In looking back at her year of service on the governing body, Roth said, “It has been an honor to serve the people of Manalapan during this past year. We have accomplished a great deal in both preserving open space, with more acres already in the pipeline, and tightening the budget by streamlining operations at town hall. In fact, I was advised that the tax receipts for this year are expected to be higher than originally projected, which when combined with the spending cuts we initiated, should allow for a decrease in the deferred school tax in next year’s budget. All the efforts we put forth this year will be easily recognizable to the residents next year.”

Roth said she and Ward ran a positive campaign based upon their accomplishments while in office and as members of other municipal bodies.

“The one thing that has always impressed me about my colleagues on the Township Committee is that they would make appointments to various boards regardless of [a person’s] political affiliation, but rather based upon their ability to serve the town. I hope Mr. Locricchio lives up to his promise to the people of bipartisanship,” she said.

Locricchio and Lucas won significant victories in voting districts 1, 3, 4, 12, 16, 17 and 18 in a chain that runs through the center of Manalapan. Several of these districts showed leads as high as a 310-vote separation.

Democratic strongholds included districts 10 and 11 where votes for Ward and Roth ran two to one, while district 15 almost reached three to one in favor of the incumbents. All three districts are in the Covered Bridge adult community and vicinity.

Other districts showed a split of about 100 votes between the candidates, with most districts favoring the Republican candidates.

The terms now held by Aaronson and Scherer will end on Dec. 31, 2005. They will be up for grabs in the November 2005 election.