Election Results For Freehold Township Committee GOP Primary 2023

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP, NJ — Longtime Freehold Township incumbents won the Republican primary in unofficial results.

There were three Republican candidates running for two spots on the Freehold Township Committee in the GOP primary.

The candidates included two incumbents, including Mayor Alan Walker and Deputy Mayor Lester Preston, and a newcomer to politics, Deborah Madge. There is no Democrat who filed to run in the primary election.

Here are the latest vote totals for the local candidates, with 96 percent of districts counted:

Township Committee: Full term, vote for two:

• Lester A. Preston, Jr. (R) Monmouth County Republican Organization - 961
• Alan C. Walker (R) Monmouth County Republican Organization - 1,008
• Deborah A. Madge (R) Eager To Work For Our Families - 289
• No Petition Filed (D)
• No Petition Filed (D)

Deputy Mayor Lester A. Preston, Jr. began serving his first term on Township Committee in 2015, according to his township biography. In 2017, he served as mayor.

Mayor Alan Walker cited several accomplishments of the committee, including shared service agreements with other governmental entities; road improvements; hiring of more police officers; reusing the long defunct Lone Pine Landfill as a solar energy facility; and acquiring a 150-acre tract for open space.

Deborah A. Madge said her husband and his family as well as their sons are lifetime farmers in the community as well as working full-time jobs. "Without preventing needed progress, I would work toward keeping Freehold Township as family oriented," she said.

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