Walsh Holds Council Seat While Bonjavanni Joins BOE

Election Day in Howell Township saw a familiar face hold his seat on the Howell Township Council and one newcomer join two incumbents on the Howell Board of Education.

Councilman Bob Walsh nearly doubled Democratic challenger Cochise Doucette to fill the one year unexpired term on the council. According to unofficial results from Monmouth County Walsh received 8,079 votes for 66.5 percent of the vote while Cochise Doucette received 4,035 votes which was 33.21 percent of the total ballots cast.

The race for the school board was closer with Suzanne Brennan receiving the most votes according to the unofficial results. Brennan’s total with all 32 districts reporting was 4,683 which put her well ahead of newcomer Mark Bonjavanni who received 4,399 votes. Rounding out the seats up for grabs was current Board President Mary Cerretani who had 3,901 votes cast in her favor. If the results hold Bonjavanni would replace Jeannette Smith on the board as she came in fourth with 3,006 votes. There were three other candidates seeking a spot on the board. Ryan Klauder received 2,350 votes, 10 more than Evelyn O’Donnell while Anna Kristjansdottir received 1,659 votes.

Howell residents will also have a new representative on the Freehold Regional High School District Board of Education after Amy Fankhauser easily beat James Truszkowski. Fankhauser received 5,073 votes to Truskowski’s 2,760 votes.

It was also a good night for Howell resident Shaun Golden. Running for another term as Monmouth County Sheriff Golden topped Democratic challenger Ruben Scolavino by a considerable margin. Unofficial results from the county had Golden receiving 102,840 votes compared to 54,923 for Scolavino.