Elections

Unofficial Election Results: Koch, Cole Hold GOP Majority on Fair Haven Borough Council

The unofficial votes are in.

With all six districts reporting in Fair Haven and 7,203 votes cast in relatively close race, the Republican incumbent Borough Council candidates Betsy Koch and Tracy Cole won their bid for reelection, keeping the GOP majority on the governing body, according to the vote counts from the Monmouth County Board of Elections by 9:30 p.m..

There are five Republican council members and one Democrat. The mayor is a Republican as well and elected separately from council members. He does not vote, only breaks ties.

The unofficial vote counts …

The top vote-getter in the Fair Haven race was current Council President Betsy Koch, with 1,951, or 27 percent of the vote. Second, with 1,859 votes, or roughly 26 percent, was Cole. Koch, a retired 24-year math and science teacher in the borough’s schools, will be going into her third full three-year term on the six-member council dais. Cole has won her second term to serve on the governing body.

In his second run for council, Democratic challenger Neil Blecher garnered 1,731 votes, or 24 percent, 220 less than Koch’s top number of 1,951 and 128 fewer than Cole.

Newcomer to the council race, Paul Frissora won 1,657 votes, or 23 percent.

There were five write-ins.

In Rumson, the Borough Council race was uncontested and keeps the Republican incumbents, Sarah Pomphrey and John Conklin III, in their seats on the dais, with 3,165 and 3,172 votes, respectively. There were 138 write-ins in Rumson.

The county Board of Elections noted that provisional ballots, cure letters, late mail-in ballots, Election Day drop box ballots, and some machine vote results are still pending. The vote count, as these votes come in, will be updated.