Middletown Open Space Tax Increase Passes; Kate Farley Concedes

MIDDLETOWN, NJ — Here's a final wrap up of the 2024 election in Middletown:

Majority of Middletown residents agree to pay more to preserve open space

A proposed tax increase to preserve open space passed: According to the Monmouth County Clerk, sixty-six percent of Middletown voters (21,895 residents) agreed to pay more in taxes to preserve open space, compared to thirty-three percent (11,052 residents) who voted against the proposal.

Middletown residents currently pay three cents for every $100 of assessed home value into an Open Space Trust Fund, which the county uses to buy woods, land and historic homes.

The 2024 ballot question asked voters to raise it to four cents. It means the average Middletown home assessed at $653,000 paid $73 total per year — and will now pay $97 into the Open Space Trust Fund.

Kate Farley concedes

Also, sitting school board member Kate Farley officially conceded Friday, after her surprise loss to Mark Soporowski, who swept to a 3,300+-vote lead in his second time seeking a seat on the Middletown school board.

From the Monmouth County Clerk, here is the final vote count in the 2024 Middletown school board election:

• Mark Soporowski — 18,486 - won a seat
• Joan Minnuies — 15,148 - will keep her seat
• Deborah Wright — 13,934 - will keep her seat
• Kate Farley — 13,332 - lost her seat
• Sara Weinstein — 10,145

"I want to thank everyone for their incredible support of our campaign. And to those of you who reached out the last few days, your words meant the world to me," Farley began in a post to her personal Facebook page. "This has been difficult to process but I’m giving it a go ... I’m disappointed in the results of the election, but I said from day one that I was going to run on my merits and accomplishments, and if the people of Middletown didn’t re-elect me, so be it."

She said her initial motivation to run for Middletown school board three years ago was to get schools to re-open during the pandemic.

"I wrote letters and gathered signatures," she said in part. "I started a Facebook group that grew to over 1500 people with a singular purpose: get our kids back in school. And we did. We even accomplished full day (with lunch) in person by the spring of 2021, when some schools had not yet reopened for any in person learning. But there were more fights to be had. Murphy’s absurd mask mandate, silly quarantine rules, so much bureaucratic nonsense that only hurt our kids. From the start, all I’ve wanted is for our children to be okay, to have a normal life, and I fought every single thing that I could see was causing them harm with all my might. Eventually I brought that fight to a role on the BOE."

Farley also said she hoped that in her three-year term on the BOE she represented parents — "especially working parents — who are often overlooked by the public education system."

And she also took some shots at Soporowski for what she said was "slandering" her name in this Patch article last week after his win.

"I led the charge for reinstating full year art and music — despite Mark Soporowski taking credit for that (when he was not on the board to implement anything ), it was actually a multi-year process that required an administrative changing of the guard and an open-minded superintendent willing to take a fresh look at scheduling and budgets to make full year art and music happen," said Farley. "All this to say that I do not appreciate having my character assassinated by a man who has never spoken a word to me, doesn’t know anything about me, and clearly has no idea how the Board of Education works ... Whatever the reason for this loss, I know this just means there is a different way I’m supposed to help our community. Presumably one that doesn’t involve working with someone who has never spoken a word to me yet inexplicably slandered my name after winning a seat on the board."

Farley added that her running mate, Sara Weinstein, "is truly a rockstar and would have been such an asset to the BOE."

Democrat Morris also concedes

And Mike Morris, the Democrat who challenged Republican Middletown Mayor Tony Perry for one seat on the Township Committee, also conceded. The final vote count there was:

• 26,122 votes for Perry (65 percent of the vote)
• 13,428 votes for Morris (33 percent of the vote)

"First and foremost, I want to thank the people of Middletown for their engagement in this year's election. While I’m disappointed in the outcome of my campaign for Township Committee, I’m incredibly proud of the spirited race we ran," said Morris Nov. 7 in a statement posted to the Middletown Democratic Party Facebook page. "We tackled the tough issues head-on — affordable and attainable housing that allows younger generations to stay in the community they’ve grown up in, implementing smart growth principles in planning new neighborhoods, and addressing the deteriorating conditions of our main roads and neighborhood streets. We also focused on the lack of sidewalks throughout much of our town and the pressing need to manage traffic and congestion, which are affecting the quality of life for all residents."

"Additionally, we cannot ignore the financial strain many of our residents are facing due to skyrocketing property taxes. The annual assessments of property values are driving these increases, leading to financial hardship for seniors on fixed incomes, working families, and young homeowners trying to establish themselves in Middletown. This is an urgent issue that demands real solutions to ensure our community remains accessible and affordable for all."

Last week: Kate Farley Not Conceding Middletown BOE Race; Soporowski Takes Surprise Big Win (Nov. 6)