Democrats have continued their decade-long sweep of Brick Township council races, defeating their former running mate who switched parties last year to join the Republicans.
Incumbent Council President Andrea Zapcic, Arthur Halloran and Lisa Crate, all Democrats, plus their new running made Vince Minichino, defeated Republicans Jim Fozman – a former Democrat – plus Victoria Chadwick, Max Flores, Neil Napolitano.
|
|
Fozman switched parties and became a Republican last year in a heated battle with Mayor John Ducey over party leadership and what he described as a dispute over transparency in government. Democrats claimed Fozman was looking for a paid position with the township, a claim he denied since he is disabled and cannot legally earn more than $17,500 per year.
Tuesday’s vote continues a decade-long streak of victories for Democrats; no Republican has been elected in a local Brick election in ten years, though the GOP maintained healthy majorities in county and state races.
The margin of victory for Democrats was a bit narrower than in the last few election cycles, however. All candidates were within about 2,000 votes of each other. Fozman received the fewest number of votes with 6,348, according to preliminary county election data, with Zapcic receiving the most votes by far, with 8,387.
