Incumbent Democrats hold seats in Aberdeen

BY TOM CAIAZZA
Staff Writer

Joseph Raymond ABERDEEN — Residents chose to stick with existing leadership last week by electing all Democratic incumbents for another term.

Mayor David Sobel, 58, was elected to his third consecutive term, narrowly defeating Republican challenger Peter Morrison, 48, by fewer than 80 votes.

Democratic incumbents Joseph Raymond, 62, and Thomas Perry, 46, both secured Township Council seats by defeating Republican challengers Sheldon Chaplowitz, 70, and John Gartley, 57.

This will be Perry’s second term on the council and Raymond’s third. It will also be Gartley’s third unsuccessful bid for a council seat. Chaplowitz was seeking his first term.

Perry, who garnered the most votes, defeated Chaplowitz and Gartley by 241 and 142 votes, respectively, while Raymond earned just 16 fewer votes than his Democratic colleague.

The mayoral race was decidedly closer, coming down to only a double-digit difference between the two candidates.

Thomas Perry Sobel said he was happy with the results of the election, but did express some concerns about the campaign itself.

“We should have been more effective in getting our message out on the core issues,” Sobel said.

Among the top priorities for the mayor’s third term are the Aberdeen Forge housing development, the creation of a unified sports federation to have all sports leagues under one umbrella, as well as the joint undertaking of the Aberdeen-Matawan Train Station.

Mayor Sobel said that no plans for the train station should go forward without first addressing the improvement of infrastructure around the station.

“It would be irresponsible for either town without addressing the traffic volume,” he said.

With the control of Matawan’s Borough Council shifting from Republican to Democratic hands come Jan. 1, the issue of the train station may proceed more easily than it has in the past. Mayor Sobel said that Aberdeen and Matawan Democrats reached out to each other both before and after the election regarding the train station.

David Sobel “We are excited about the informal discussions between the two towns,” Sobel said.

As for Morrison, this was his first run for public office, and he was pleased that his challenge to the incumbent mayor was as close as it was.

“We did better than most people thought,” Morrison said of his campaign’s higher-than-expected support from the voters.

Morrison attributes the loss to an insurmountable vote gap in one of Aberdeen’s 13 districts, even though the competition was close everywhere else. According to Morrison, campaign logistics played a large part in the loss.

“We were outgunned dollar-wise,” Morrison said. “More funding would have helped.”

As for a next go-round, Morrison seems excited at the possibility.

“Next time will be an easy win,” Morrison said. “We have experience and name recognition. We planted a lot of seeds. Next time the results will be different.”