Who Will Control Brick? Final Tallies Awaited In Mayoral Race

BRICK, NJ — Brick Township residents will likely be waiting for two weeks for the final result of Tuesday's mayoral election, after vote tallies showed incumbent Lisa Crate holding a 261-vote lead over Republican Madeline Colagiovanni Iannarone.

The township's Republican Club is hoping any outstanding vote-by-mail ballots will favor Iannarone, and issued a statement late Tuesday night saying they would wait for the results to be certified.

"The mayor’s race is still too close to call with a less than 1 point difference separating Madeline Iannarone and Lisa Crate. Every vote deserves to be counted and we will wait to see the final results," the statement said.

Crate claimed victory late Wednesday afternoon in a statement on her campaign page.

"The election is over, and I am honored that the voters of Brick have once again chosen me to serve as Mayor of the town I love," the statement said. "The support I received from Democrats, Republicans, and Independents shows that in Brick, we are independent thinkers who look beyond party labels to do what’s best for our community."

Crate went on to thank the voters and her council running mates, councilwoman Heather deJong, Dan Ward, and Rocco Lepore, who were defeated by the Republican council slate of councilman Perry Albanese, Lisa Reina and Greg Cohen for the three council seats.

"I also congratulate the newly elected Council members and I look forward to working with them to continue making Brick better," Crate's statement said.

The Republican Club reiterated its stance of waiting until every vote is counted before declaring an outcome, which may not happen until the results are certified.

Certification happens on Nov. 19, two weeks after Election Day, according to the state election calendar. If there is a request for a recount, it must be filed no later than Nov. 22.

The Republican Club celebrated the council sweep along with the win by incumbent school board member Fran DiBenedictis.

"We are so proud to have won our council races for Lisa Reina, Greg Cohen, and Perry Albanese," the statement said. "Congrats to Fran DiBenidictis for also being re-elected to the Brick school board. We thank you for your support and vote!"

According to the unofficial tallies as of 10:15 p.m. Tuesday, Reina was the top vote-getter in the council race with 17,478. Albanese, who was seeking his second council term, received 17,427, and Cohen received 16,838.

DeJong, who was seeking her fourth council term, trails Cohen by more than 2,000 votes, with 14,807. Ward and Lepore have received 14,655 and 14,558 so far, respectively.

That gives the Republicans three seats on the seven-member Township Council. Democrats Derrick Ambrosino, Vince Minichino, Steve Feinman and Melissa Travers will hold a 4-3 majority on the council.

That's why the outcome of the Crate-Colagiovanni Iannarone race matters to both parties. If Crate holds onto the victory, the Democrats will still be in control. If Iannarone wins, the Republicans will hold more sway, though there will have to be bipartisan agreement for anything to get done.

Crate had received 16,705 votes to 16,444 for Colagiovanni Iannarone, according to unofficial tallies.

What was not known Wednesday is how many vote-by-mail ballots remain outstanding. Patch has requested the information through the Open Public Records Act after the Ocean County Board of Elections declined to provide it over the phone on Wednesday.

Also unknown Wednesday was how many provisional ballots may have been cast — provisional ballots allow voters who believe they are registered or who were listed as having been issued a vote-by-mail ballot to vote while their voting status is verified.

Vote-by-mail tallies favored Crate, who received double the votes by mail-in that Colagiovanni Iannarone received, 3,354 to 1,472, as of Tuesday night. Colagiovanni Iannarone received 119 more votes in early voting (3,645 to 3,526) and 1,502 more votes on Election Day (11,326 to 9,824).