Howell Residents Split on Minimum Wage Question

When Howell voters went to the polls on Tuesday they returned Coucilman Bob Walsh to the Howell Township Council for at least another year and they also added Mark Bonjavanni to the local school board.

While there was a large amount of agreement in the township on many items on the ballot, one of the questions nearly split residents down the middle. The second question asked residents throughout the state whether there should be a constitutional amendment to set the minimum wage with the annual cost of living increases.

Of the 12,524 residents voting on Tuesday 6,274 voted against the measure while 6,250 voted in favor of it according to unofficial results from Monmouth County. Across the county there was also very little agreement on the matter with 84,066 voting in favor and 73,488 opposed. According to NJSpotlight The measure was approved overall at the state level with 61 percent voting to raise the minimum wage to $8.25 per hour.

There was no such disagreement on the first question on the ballot which asked if residents wanted a constitutional amendment to allow money from games of chance to support veterans’ organizations. Of the 12,302 residents who voted on the question a little more than 82 percent or 10,103 voted yes. That was closer in line with the state averages as the measure passed with 81 percent in favor on the state level according to NJSpotlight.