Melonie Marano

One political certainty: 2009 will begin with at least one special election convention for the Legislature – either a race for Leonard Lance's 23rd district State Senate seat, or a contest for Linda Stender's State Assembly seat in District 22.  Lance or Stender would presumably resign just after the first of the year -- the new Member of Congress takes office on January 3 -- setting the stage for a County Committee vote betwee seven and 35 days of the vacancy.

Republicans held control of the Monmouth County Board of Freeholders, and will have a 3-2 majority next year.  GOP incumbent Robert Clifton was re-elected, but Democrats captured an open Republican seat with John D'Amico, a former Freeholder, State Senator and Superior Court Judge, defeating Republican Jeff Cantor by just 316 votes.

In Someret County, with Republican Patricia Walsh leads Democrat Melonie Marano.

Democrats picked up a Freeholder seat in Cumberland County, with Joseph Pepitone ousting incumbent Mary Gruccio.

In Burlington County, Republican Joseph Donnelly won an open Freeholder seat, defeating Democrat Tom Bader.

Democrats narrowly held two Freeholder seats in Passaic County. Incumbents Terry Duffy (29,980) and Pat Lepore (27,775) defeated Republicans Jerry Holt (24,318) and Joseph Stinziano (22,756).

Democrats held three Freeholder seats in Bergen County, but by a very narrow margin, according to The Record:

James M. Carroll* (D) -- 44,684
Tomas J. Padilla* (D) -- 44,179
Elizabeth Calabrese* (D) -- 45,155
Charles J.X. Kahwaty (R) -- 42,265
Robert B. Yudin (R) -- 42,932
Paul A. Duggan (R) -- 43,115

The Courier-News has endorsed Democrat Melonie Marano for Somerset County Freeholder. READ 

A Republican source says that a recent poll conducted by Somerset County Republican Chairman Dale Florio shows the race for Freeholder in a statistical dead heat, with Republican Patricia Walsh and Democrat Melonie Marano in a statistical dead heat, 32%-32%.

Somerset County hasn’t elected a Democratic Freeholder since 1979, but Democrats think that this year they just might be able to capitalize on Republican misfortune and pull it off.

This year, two women from the small town of Green Brook are battling it out to see whether the county’s five-member freeholder board will remain all Republican, or whether it will be joined by a lone Democratic voice for the first time since 1982, after Christie Whitman took the seat from Michael Ceponis. The Democrats have fielded Green Brook Committeewoman Melonie Marano, while Republican’s have tapped the town’s mayor, Patricia Walsh.

Melonie Marano, a township committeewoman from Green Brook, will seek the Democratic nomination for Somerset County Freeholder.