By Sunayana Prabhu
COLTS NECK – External threats and infighting among township officials fueled by conflicts over affordable housing plans have set a contentious political stage as the township enters primary season.
Two Republicans are running for one three-year seat on the five-member township committee in the June 10 primary. No Democrat has filed to run in the primary election, according to an unofficial list from the Monmouth County clerk of elections.
Five-year incumbent Sue Fitzpatrick is running for re-election as she seeks her final term on the township committee under municipal term limits set by the township. She is being challenged by John Tobia, a fellow Republican and member of the township’s planning board.
But as the primary inches closer, Fitzpatrick, Deputy Mayor Michael Viola and planning board vice chair Kris Lukowitz have each reported receiving threats and intimidation.
Threatening Letters
Although it was “nerve-racking” initially, Fitzpatrick said she is “moving forward” from the day she found two anonymous letters at her home demanding her withdrawal from the upcoming primary race. “It will be a very dirty primary,” Fitzpatrick told The Two River Times one of the letters read. She said the letters, threatening to ruin her life if she did not drop out of the race, were found at her home around April 3.
Fitzpatrick reported the incident, currently under active investigation, to the Colts Neck Police Department and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.
“I’ve got a short amount of time to continue with my campaign, and this is just a blip,” Fitzpatrick said. “I am the incumbent. I’m running for re-election, and I feel that my character and what I’ve done for the town speak volumes.”
Tobia, who is running on a campaign to curb potential overdevelopment in the township was quick to denounce the threats. In a public statement on his social media post, he voiced concerns for Fitzpatrick’s safety while standing by his commitment to a fair and respectful campaign.
“This vile attempt to intimidate and threaten Sue is beyond unacceptable – and we must call it out, loudly and clearly. Threats have no place in any campaign. Not now. Not ever,” Tobia wrote on his Facebook page. “No matter how angry we are, or how passionate we get about our beliefs and perspectives, threats and intimidation have no place in our community.”
When asked about its investigation into the threatening letters, the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office declined to comment.
As the campaign continues, despite sharp policy disagreements, both Fitzpatrick and Tobia appear united on at least one front: Political intimidation will not be tolerated in Colts Neck.
Conflicts Over Affordable Housing
Conflicts over the township’s affordable housing obligations remain one of the most divisive factors, not only defining the candidates’ campaigns but also triggering in-fighting among township officials.
The town, known for its sprawling estates and large equestrian farms, is under an obligation to create affordable housing opportunities to meet the state’s fair share housing law. Under the Mount Laurel mandate, all municipalities are legally required to provide a certain amount of affordable housing or risk losing control over local zoning to developers.
Colts Neck faces unique zoning issues because of its farmlands and limited sewerage infrastructure. The majority of residents in the township use wells and septic systems on their properties. Overdevelopment has been one of the community’s biggest challenges and concerns.
In the past few years, the township preserved “over 300 acres” of open space, said Fitzpatrick, who is also on the Open Space and Farmland committee. She indicated that township officials are “in negotiation” to secure another 200 acres of open space but the details are contingent on legal processes.
“There are ways that you can meet the (affordable housing) obligation without necessarily having to do new construction,” Fitzpatrick said.
Township officials have worked with some farmers and homeowners to purchase deed restrictions on their properties that prevent future dense housing development. Under the deed restrictions, landowners can still sell the property, but new owners must maintain the land’s original agricultural purpose. “You cannot build a bunch of houses on it. It cannot be subdivided,” Fitzpatrick explained.
Tobia’s campaign, meanwhile, is centered on the frustration many feel about the township committee’s “failure” to question the state mandate. As a planning board member, Tobia voted against Kushner Companies’ controversial 360-unit apartment complex currently under construction along Route 537 near Colts Neck High School.
The project, now rebranded as Livana Colts Neck – formerly referred to as Colts Neck Manor – was approved by the township committee in 2015 amid threats of a builder’s remedy lawsuit, which could strip the township of its zoning authority. Under state law, developers who propose projects with an affordable housing element, in line with New Jersey’s fair share housing requirements, can sue municipalities that reject such proposals.
“They are defending something they also say they oppose,” Tobia said in a March 29 Facebook post. “I want to be clear: It’s NOT easy navigating affordable housing mandates. But this Township Committee has FAILED us. Before there was a shovel in the ground on Rt. 537, this Township Committee REFUSED to push back and negotiate for better deals or solutions. They rolled over and voted ‘yes,’ afraid to fight.”
Fitzpatrick has defended the township’s approval of the Livana project because of its affordable housing element. “This is the law of the land. It’s not an option. There are ways that you can work with the option to benefit you. Unfortunately, the property that’s being razed right now was a lawsuit of builder’s remedy, and so they were allowed to build,” she said.
More than a dozen municipalities across the state filed lawsuits last year to dispute their fourth round of affordable housing numbers. Many argued they are burdened by infrastructure and environmental challenges and can’t support any further development within their borders.
Colts Neck is not involved in a legal battle, but township officials have said they are confident they can meet fourth-round obligations with minimal impact. According to minutes from the Jan. 29 township committee meeting, the township’s third-round obligation was originally 545 units, but the township negotiated that number down to 306.
The planning board continues to review its fourth round fair share housing plan, due to the state in June. “We are doing extremely well,” committee member Frank Rizzuto told residents during the April 9 township meeting. “We are poised to mitigate our fourth-round obligation in a masterful way. I can’t say more specifically because we are in litigation, but this notion of a thousand new units coming into Colts Neck is pure hyperbole.”
He said the town’s requirement to create 101 affordable housing units “does translate to more apartments, but if we play our cards right, believe me, we’re going to be fine.”
Planning Board’s Internal Dispute
Meanwhile, disagreements over affordable housing have triggered an internal conflict, resulting in a legal dispute that the township committee is now trying to resolve.
This dispute dates back to an event in Atlantic City last year when a verbal feud over affordable housing plans between planning board vice chair Kris Lukowitz and deputy mayor Michael Viola escalated into a physical assault. A special township committee meeting was held April 1, during which Lukowitz was charged by the committee for violating the township’s workplace violence policy.
During the meeting, the facts of the case were presented to an independent arbitrator who will determine whether Lukowitz should be removed from the planning board.
Tobia has posted on his Facebook page about the situation. He also hand-delivered a letter to Colts Neck Mayor Tara Torchia Buss requesting a formal, legal investigation into the “serious allegations” by two senior residents stemming from public comments at the April 1 meeting. They “each spoke about specific incidents in which they say they were verbally and physically threatened and intimidated by past and current members of the Township Committee,” Tobia wrote.
The article originally appeared in the April 17 – 23, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
