By Charles Layton
Ocean Grove voted heavily Republican on Tuesday while Neptune Township, as a whole, was voting for Democrats.
The Republican candidate for Township Committee, Richard Silva, outpolled the Democratic incumbent, Kevin McMillan, by 356 votes to 292. However, in Neptune as a whole, McMillan won the race with 56 percent of the vote.
McMillan’s victory gives Democrats a continued 5-0 lock on the Neptune Township Committee. On the other hand, incumbent Democrat Amy Mallet’s loss in the Monmouth County Freeholders race hands the Republicans a 5-0 monopoly on that body.
The political split between Neptune and the whole of Monmouth County was illustrated by the returns in the county and state legislative races. Republicans won all of those, while Neptune (though not Ocean Grove) voted solidly for their Democratic opponents.
Voter turnout was very light this year – only 26 percent in Ocean Grove and 27 percent in Neptune as a whole.
The only election result that kind of surprised me was Ocean Grove’s approval of the statewide ballot question permitting the Legislature to legalize sports betting at casinos, racetracks and former racetrack sites. I thought voters in God’s Square Mile might oppose that, but they went for it, 289 to 263. (It passed by a much wider margin in the rest of Neptune and also statewide.)
Here are votes cast in Ocean Grove, in Neptune Township, and overall:*
Township Committee
REP Richard A. Silva: 356 in OG, 2,254 total
DEM Kevin B. McMillan: 292 in OG, 2,894 total
State Senate, 11th District
REP Jennifer Beck: 357 in OG, 2,170 in Neptune, 20,156 total
DEM Raymond Santiago: 295 in OG, 2,899 in Neptune, 15,419 total
General Assembly
REP Mary Pat Angelini: 344 in OG, 2,031 in Neptune, 18,420 total
REP Caroline Casagrande: 329 in OG,1,993 in Neptune, 18,679 total
DEM Vin Gopal: 271 in OG, 2,814 in Neptune, 15,333 total
DEM Kathleen Horgan: 266 in OG, 2,817 in Neptune, 15,000 total
IND Dan Jacobson: 74 in OG, 332, in Neptune, 2,340 total
Surrogate
REP Rosemarie D. Peters: 355 in OG, , 2,111 in Neptune, 62,108 total
DEM Michael Steinhorn: 286 in OG, 2,798 in Neptune, 40,894 total
Board of Chosen Freeholders
REP Gary Rich: 327 in OG, 1,885 in Neptune, 54,979 total
REP Lillian G. Burry: 327 in OG, 1,918 in Neptune, 54,969 total
DEM Amy Mallet: 301 in OG, 2,984 in Neptune, 46,413 total
DEM William Shea: 280 in OG, 2,859 in Neptune, 43,457 total
IND Thomas Markowski: 39 in OG, 225 in Neptune, 5,418 total
IND Patrick Noble: 19 in OG, 87 in Neptune, 1,389 total
State Public Question
Yes: 289 in OG, 2,627 in all of Neptune
No: 263 in OG, 1,543 in all of Neptune
* Voting results provided by Township Municipal Clerk Richard Cuttrell and by the website visitmonmouth.com.