Fair Haven Incumbents Sweep Races

"I think I may have won," joked Fair Haven Mayor Benjamin Lucarelli when the results came in for the uncontested mayoral race in the borough.

The Republican incumbent mayor, who ran unopposed to fill the two-year unexpired term of former Mayor Michael Halfacre, garnered 1,909 votes, or 98.55 percent. There were 28 write-in votes, according to the unofficial results from the Monmouth County Board of Elections.

Lucarelli ran on a ticket with GOP incumbents Robert Marchese and Eric Jaeger, who won their contested terms to council with 1,531 and 1,509 votes, respectively. Marchese garnered the most votes of all four Borough Council candidates, or 30.91 percent.

Jaeger and Marchese were running against Democrat challengers Susan O'Brien and Dorothy Neceda, who won 997 and 911 votes, respectively. There were five write-ins on the council ballots.

Jaeger, for the past six months, has filled the unexpired term now-Mayor Ben Lucarelli was serving before being appointed to mayor after former Mayor Michael Halfacre resigned to accept the position of director of the NJ Division of Alcoholic Beverage Control.

This will be Jaeger'sc first full three-year term on Borough Council. Marchese has won his second term to council.

The Fair Haven Board of Education race was an uncontested one, with incumbents Randi Walker, Mark Mancuso and Tracy Rehder winning their new three-year terms on the board. Mancuso won the most votes, with 1,502, while Rehder garnered 1,481 and Walker brought in 1,431.

Winning the one-year unexpired term was unopposed Micheal J. Bernstein with 1,556 votes.