By Emily Schopfer and Sunayana Prabhu
Unofficial results showed competitive races for both school boards and town councils, with winners and losers separated by only a few votes, while many local municipal races, including in Little Silver and Holmdel, were uncontested. Red Bank and Tinton Falls had no municipal seats open this election year.
The blue wave had little impact on local school board races. Most of the board of education (BOE) incumbents were returned to office. In Colts Neck’s BOE race for three open seats, incumbent Vincent Rugnetta and running mates Angela Mansour and Alice Dean Finney were elected. The three candidates ran under the Colts Kids First slate that also collectively won the 2023 elections. Each member serves a three-year term on the nine-member board, which is largely perceived as conservative.
As of press time Wednesday, Nov. 4, the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office website lists the following results for municipal and board of education races:
Municipal Contests
Atlantic Highlands Council
Jon Crowley (D): 1,136 (30.12%)
Alyson Forbes (D): 1,132 (30.01%)
Brian Boms (R):Â 774 (20.52%)Â
Blaise Piazza (R): 727 (19.27%)Â
Eatontown Borough Mayor
Anthony Talerico Jr. (D): 2,913 (67.03%)
Maria Grazia Escalante (R): 1,428 (32.86%)
Eatontown Borough Council
Candace M. Faust (D): 2,736 (31.99%)
Danielle M. Jones (D): 2,659 (31.09%)
Kevin Gonzalez (R): 1,623 (18.98%)
Ali Mehdaoui (R): 1,516 (17.72%)
Fair Haven Borough Council
Marian Croak (D): 1,616 (27.60%)
Christopher Rodriguez (D): 1,564 (26.71%)
Kristen A. Hoey (R): 1,374 (23.46%)Â
Brian W. Olson (R): 1,291 (22.05%)Â
Fair Haven Borough Mayor
Michal Albanese DiMiceli (D): 1,170 (39.29%)
Elizabeth M. Koch (R): 1,068 (35.86%)Â
Diana Anttonen (I): 736 (24.71%)Â
Highlands Borough Council
(nonpartisan)
Melissa Cavaluzzi: 784 (28.49%)
Joseph Walsh: 757 (27.51%)
Alyson Serkin: 645 (23.44%) Â
ElenaRose Villali: 548 (19.91%)Â
Middletown Township Committee
Ryan M. Clarke (R): 12,480 (26.59%)
Morganne Dudzinski (R): 12,314 (26.24%)
Shawn Wallach (D): 11,101 (23.66%)Â
Jeremy Seideman (D): 10,989 (23.42%)Â
Sea Bright Borough Council
Marc A. Leckstein (D): 395 (27.92%)
Susana Markson (D): 376 (26.57%)
Benjamin Perrin (R): 274 (19.36%)Â
Jeffrey Booker (R): 271 (19.15%)Â
John M. Lamia Jr. (I): 96 (6.78%)Â
Sea Bright Borough Council
(unexpired term)
Margaret C. Fisher (D): 362 (51.42%)
Charles H. Rooney III (R): 342 (48.58%)
Shrewsbury Borough Mayor
(uncontested)
Kimberly Eulner (R): 1,390 (96.66%)
Shrewsbury Borough Council
Devon Morton (R): 1,138 (35.21%)
James Daly (R): 1,115 (34.50%)
Alexander M. Howard (D): 935 (28.93%)
Board of Education Contests
Colts Neck Board of Education
Vincent Rugnetta: 1,499 (14.87%)
Angela Mansour: 1,426 (14.14%)
Alice Dean Finney: 1,420 (14.08%)
Thomas Colella: 1,034 (10.26%)
Alainah Robillard: 948 (9.40%)
David Hauss: 942 (9.34%)
Camila Fernandez-Cohen:935 (9.27%)
Michal Mateusz Kalisz: 935 (9.27%)
Alicia Raia-Hawrylak: 922 (9.15%)
Henry Hudson Regional Board of Education
Atlantic Highlands
Megan McGuane: 739 (47.99%)Â
Daniel Sutton Jr.: 476 (30.91%)Â
Brent Sonnek-Schmelz: 294 (19.09%)Â
Â
Highlands
Rebecca Wells: 949 (35.37%)
Diane Knox: 734 (27.36%)
Lindsay Silberman: 539 (20.09%)Â
Robin Manno: 441 (16.44%)Â
Holmdel Board of Education
Alison LoPresti: 3,199 (19.30%)
Anthony Libecci: 2,955 (17.83%)
Peter Hayden: 2,904 (17.52%)
Deborah Wilson: 2,540 (15.33%)
Jen Ashkar: 2,515 (15.18%)
Jayme Lowenstein: 2,414 (14.57%)
Little Silver Board of Education
Kristen Mignoli: 1,433 (22.95%)
Jeanne Lauro: 1,298 (20.79%)
Christina Skove: 1,032 (16.53%)
Adam Feigenbaum: 912 (14.61%)
Peter Demato: 779 (12.48%)
Vincent Lenza: 761 (12.19%)
Tinton Falls Board of Education
Kelly L. Jarvis: 3,979 (35.83%)
Angie Swaroop: 3,716 (33.47%)
Nick Bellia: 3,353 (30.20%)
Monmouth Regional Board of Education, Tinton Falls
Thomas G. Hintelman: 3,733 (61.37%)
Ketsia Beaubrun: 2,312 (38.01%)
Visit monmouthcountyvotes.gov or vote.nj.gov for certified election data and updates.
This article originally appeared in the November 5-11, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
