Former Holmdel Mayor Says He'll Sit Out Election This Year

HOLMDEL, NJ — Township Committeeman and former Mayor Gregory Buontempo has confirmed he won't be seeking re-election this year.

The Republican, who had served as mayor for several terms previously, has been out of favor with the county GOP, led by Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden.

Independents who won election in 2019, Cathy Weber and Prakash Santhana, and he were allies on the Township Committee. But both Independents were unable to finish their terms because of business reasons.

So last year one of their seats was filled by Republican Brian Foster, put forth by then Committeemen DJ Luccarelli (now mayor) and Rocco Impreveduto (now deputy mayor). Buontempo was not present at the meeting. Weber's seat was never filled in 2022.

In the November 2022 election, Republican Kim LaMountain was elected with Foster, defeating two Independents, Julie Roth and Rajesh Mohan.

So that left Buontempo a bit out in the cold this year, not given a committee assignment as a departmental liaison. You can read about the 2023 reorganization here.

Buontempo does, however, oversee the township library and veterans affairs, both areas he has expressed an affinity for.

He regularly reports on library material circulation at the committee meetings, for example, and at one meeting this year the figures showed a marked increase in how many books were taken out compared with the previous month.

"I guess my reports are working," he quipped at the time.

So it came as no surprise to him he was not nominated by the GOP this time around. His term ends at the end of the year.

"I'm taking a year off," he said Tuesday.

And he said his decision was for personal reasons and isn't related to county GOP politics.

"I've already proven I can win off the line being placed in Column 7 and being the highest vote getter of all candidates," he said, referring to the past election.

He reflected on the progress the township has made during his time in government, including recent mayoral terms.

There is the new library, located in Bell Works, for example, that is seeing more and more use by the public and hosts a variety of programs, he said.

He mentioned new capital projects, such as the new firehouse and and pool club renovation, as well as tennis and basketball courts.

Then there is the township's continuing challenge to the New Jersey Natural Gas Co. gas regulator project. Holmdel and several area municipalities fought a JCP&L proposal for a high-voltage power line, he said.

The township has made veterans' concerns a priority with regular sessions with veterans groups, for example. And part of Crawfords Corner Road was dedicated just last summer to retired U.S. Army Gen. John H. Tilelli Jr., raised in Holmdel.

The past few years have also seen the evolution of the Township Committee, now in GOP control.

Republican Buontempo was first elected to the committee in 2011 and has served several terms as mayor. He won re-election to the Township Committee in 2020 despite his not being endorsed by the regular county Republican party in the primary that year. Then Weber and Santhana, the victorious Independents, supported him for mayor in 2022.

Buontempo said he was not so much aligned with Independents, as with Township Committee members "I felt had the interest of the town as their top priority."

In what was perhaps the most contentious event of 2022 in Holmdel, the township Charter Study Commission put forward a vote to establish a nonpartisan Council-Manager form of government in Holmdel. The measure was supported by the Independents on the committee and the mayor, but was ultimately defeated in a July 26, 2022 election. A change of government was not supported by the GOP committee members.

Looking ahead to November, here are the candidates who have filed petitions for the two full terms up in the November election, according to the Monmouth County election website:

• Domenico "DJ" Luccarelli (R), Monmouth County Republican Organization
• Joseph Romano (R), Monmouth County Republican Organization
• Kathleen D. Bauer (D) Monmouth County Democrats
• No petition was filed for the other Democratic spot.

Luccarelli is the current mayor.

Romano, running as a Republican, has not held office before but he was featured in a Patch election profile when he ran unsuccessfully for Township Committee as a Democrat in 2020. At the time he said "Most of my life I was a registered Republican. I used to refer to myself as a progressive Republican but now I say I’m a conservative Democrat."

Bauer is a Democrat, the only one who filed for the two spots.

Any Independent candidate who might run in November must file on or before the date of the primary election, June 6.