On his second try, former Red Bank councilman John Curley won a seat on the Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders, tipping the board back to Republican control.
His win was part of a GOP wave that included a win for gubernatorial aspirant Chris Christie and and for incumbent 12th-District Assembly members Declan O’Scanlon of Little Silver and Caroline Casagrande of Colts Neck.
From the Asbury Park Press:
Casagrande and O’Scanlon were challenged for a second term by Manalapan
Committeewoman Michelle Roth and teacher John Amberg of Tinton Falls, both Democrats, and Green Party member Steven Welzer of East Windsor, a retired state worker.
O’Scanlon was the top vote getter with 38,981 ballots, followed by Casagrande who received 38,797 votes. Roth received 22,913 ballots and voters cast 21,404 votes for Amberg. Welzer was a distant fifth with 1,372.
Meanwhile, Curley, who now lives in Middletown, trounced Democrat Sean Byrnes, also of Middletown, in a race in which party control of the Freeholder board hung in the balance for the third consecutive year.
The Press reports that with 97 percent of ballots counted, Curley led Byrnes by more than 35,000 votes.
