The decisive election race remains undecided, but a top Monmouth County Democrat is getting ready to take a close look at “a handful of well-paying jobs” if the party wins control of the board for the first time in 24 years, according to today’s Asbury Park Press.

And the party affiliation of job-seekers may be a factor in determining who gets jobs that frequently pay $100,000 a year or more, Freeholder John D’Amico tells Press reporter Bob Jordan.

D’Amico says that party ties may be a factor in picking among job applicants “if there are more than two or three equally qualified people interested in a particular position.” He stresses that the review has not yet begun.

D’Amico’s comments were made as both major parties await the results of the John Curley-Amy Mallet race for the second of two seats on the board. Republicans had a 3-2 majority going into the election; a win by Mallet, of Fair Haven, would tip control to Democrats.

Republican Lillian Burry, Curley’s running mate, retained her seat, and Mallet’s slatemate, Glenn Mason, lost. Now, only 18 votes separate Mallet and Curley, out of more than 271,000 cast, with some 3,200 provisional ballots to be reviewed and counted.

From the Press:

D’Amico, elected to the board in 2007, also was elected as a freeholder in 1983 and 1986 and was a freeholder when the Democrats took control of the board in 1984.

“What we did in the 1980s was to retain people who were doing a good job. We didn’t retain people who were underperforming. The Republican Party has tended to take care of its own and behaved that way when the party won back control in 1985. That’s the operative philosophy of their organization and I think it contributed to the longevity of the party’s power in Monmouth County. I remember what happened but I’m not into punishment or revenge of anything of that nature. My philosophy is we must have the most capable people in place and adhere to good government practices,” D’Amico said.

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