Republicans on track to retain control in Howell

Howell Deputy Mayor Evelyn Malsbury-O’Donnell

Republican Deputy Mayor Evelyn Malsbury-O’Donell pulled ahead of Democrat Andre de Garmeaux on Monday in the race for a seat on the Howell Township Council which will determine partisan control of the governing body.

As of 5:08 p.m. on November 9, Malsbury -O’Donnell leads de Garmeaux 14,650-14,494 in the count of paper ballots that were mailed to voters. As of Friday, November 6, the Deputy Mayor trailed by 153 votes. She led by 94 votes after a data upload this morning.

de Garmeaux had a double digit lead in the early reports of paper mailed ballots on Election Night which consistently narrowed as ballots were counted. The Monmouth County Board of Elections are processing and reporting ballots in the order in which they were received. Democrats tended to vote earlier that Republicans and unaffiliated voters throughout the County.

There are approximately 500 provisional ballots which were cast at polling places on Election Day. Those ballots, which are believed to favor Republicans, will be counted starting on Wednesday. The Board of Elections is required to complete counting the mailed ballots on Tuesday, November 10.

Democrat Mayor Theresa Berger appears to be secure in her bid for a second term. Berger is currently leading Republican Suzanne Brennan by 15,939-13,676.

If Berger and Malsbury-O’Donnell are both elected, as they both were in a split ticket in 2016, Republicans will retain control of the Township, 3-2.