By Stephen Appezzato
SEA BRIGHT/RUMSON – Initial primary election results indicate familiar faces will appear on the November ballot in Sea Bright and Rumson.
While mail-in ballots can still be counted until June 10, as of press time, Sea Bright council member Erwin Bieber won one of two Republican nominations for the November election, tallying 123 votes (38.32%).
“It’s been an honor for me to have a chance to serve the Sea Bright residents and businesses over the last three years,” Bieber said. “I’m very honored, but also very appreciative of the support that I got from a lot of people and continuing the journey that I’ve been on.”
For the nomination, Bieber ran under his local Republican party against two Monmouth County Republican Committee candidates.
“It’s a unique situation, where I was running in column six sort of separated from the primary column four,” which presented a set of challenges, Bieber said.
“Having three candidates for two slots is always a challenge. But there was a lot of focus on things that I’ve worked on, the effort that I’ve put in the campaigns that I’ve led, the committees that I’ve led, and I think a lot of people paid attention to those things,” which included increasing code enforcement, addressing cannabis legalization (Sea Bright did not allow cannabis business in the borough), controlling short-term rentals and flood mitigation plans, he said.
“I think that garnered a lot of attention. And those that have come to council meetings have seen me very engaged, very active, and that gains their support,” he said.
“I think we overcame an unusual challenge to be able to be the top vote-getter, even though I was outside the primary Republican line,” he added.
In the past, Bieber was elected with county Republican committee backing. This year, Bieber ran in the primary under the Sea Bright Republican Organization against fellow council member and president William Keeler and former council member Jeffrey Booker, both of whom were endorsed by borough mayor Brian Kelly.
Keeler, chair of the public safety, finance, insurance and grants committees, won the other nomination with 113 votes (35.20%). Booker, who lost reelection last year, came in third with 81 votes (25.23%).
“(I) certainly have a ways to go. This is just the primary. But based on last night’s primary I look forward to the November election to once again have a chance to serve the Sea Bright residents and businesses,” Bieber said.
In a similar race in Rumson, council members Sarah Pomphrey and John Conklin won both Republican nominations. The incumbents, who campaigned under the Rumson First Republican Organization, tallied 811 (28.69%) and 846 (29.93%) votes, respectively.
Pomphrey and Conklin’s campaign highlighted continued fiscal responsibility, maintaining the borough’s AAA Moody’s bond rating and keeping taxes low as long-term goals for the borough. A local organization, the Rumson First party emphasized it was funded directly by Rumson residents and maintained local control, claiming it was free of “outside interests” swaying local governance.
In a statement to The Two River Times, Pomphrey and Conklin thanked residents for their support and the record voter turnout for a Rumson primary.
“We were up sagainst a very well-run, professional political organization,” the candidates wrote.
“We stuck to our record and commitment to our town and residents. In the end the Rumson people spoke and we look forward to preserving the unique town we cherish while continuing to evolve with new ideas and positive changes for the benefit of all,” the statement read.
Like Keeler and Booker in Sea Bright, Rumson challengers Peter Izzo and Stephanie Hoitt campaigned with support from the much larger Monmouth County Republican Committee. In their campaign, Izzo and Hoitt vowed to bring more transparency to Rumson governance.
Izzo, a member of the Rumson Zoning Board, and political newcomer Hoitt said if elected in November, they would review and update residents on the borough’s affordable housing projects, establish a flood commission, update recreation programs, address traffic and safety concerns, and increase transparency by making public meetings available for live video conference, expanding access to public documents and improving government relations in their first 100 days.
As of press time, Izzo had 593 votes (20.98%) and Hoitt had 573 votes (20.27%).
Aside from the Rumson and Sea Bright Republican primaries, which were the most hotly contested in the Two River area, Monmouth County residents voted in four federal primaries.
In Congressional District 3, Rajesh Mohan won the Republican nomination with 51.76% of the initial vote, while Herb Conway won the Democratic nomination with 40.01%. In District 4, longtime U.S. Rep. Chris Smith racked up 80.11% of the Republican vote to win the nomination, and Matthew Jenkins won the Democratic nomination unopposed. In District 6, Scott Fegler won the Republican nomination with 78.94% of the vote, while longtime incumbent Frank Pallone won the Democratic nomination with 88.34%.
After a long campaign for the Democratic nomination for one of New Jersey’s U.S. Senate seats, U.S. Rep. Andy Kim amassed 82% of the vote. In November, Kim will face off against Republican Curtis Bashaw, who garnered 58.06% of the vote. Current U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez, a Democrat on trial for corruption, announced he will run as an Independent in November.
In the upcoming Monmouth County commissioner race, incumbent Sue Kiley received the Republican nomination unopposed. She will run against Democrat Danielle Mastropiero, who was also nominated unopposed this week.
The Two River Times reached out to the Monmouth County Republican Committee, but did not receive a comment by press time.
The article originally appeared in the June 6 – June 12, 2024 print edition of The Two River Times.
