Lawsuit Targets Ocean County Clerk After Deputy Clerk Draws Top Spot on Toms River School Board Ballot

TOMS RIVER, N.J. – I’d turn the opening around so the lawsuit — and specifically its conflict claim — drives the story:

TOMS RIVER, N.J. – A lawsuit challenging the Toms River Regional Board of Education ballot drawing claims the process was compromised by a structural conflict because candidate Ashley Lamb is also a deputy clerk and member of the leadership team inside the same Ocean County Clerk’s Office responsible for administering the drawing.

Candidates Elizabeth Huber and Laura Picurro argue that the problem goes beyond how the names were pulled from a box.

Their lawsuit says Lamb was simultaneously an incumbent school board president, a candidate seeking reelection and a deputy county clerk when her own office conducted the Aug. 10 drawing that ultimately placed her group first. The complaint does not allege that Lamb personally drew a capsule, but argues her dual role created a “structural conflict” and raised questions about the institutional independence of the process.

The county itself identified Lamb as part of the Clerk’s Office “leadership team” when she was sworn in as deputy clerk in January alongside County Clerk John P. “Jack” Kelly and Deputy Clerk John Catalano.

Kelly, who has been in failing health in recent years has been absent from government since being elected to the Clerk’s office. Instead, it is said that Catalano and Lamb, both deputy clerks, are operating as the de facto clerk as Kelly maintains a relative no-show position at the top of the county government.

The lawsuit also alleges two separate problems with the drawing itself: Huber and Picurro say candidates were improperly bracketed together without the required written request and that clear capsules were used despite state law requiring capsules to be selected “without knowledge” of which one was being drawn.

For years, the rumor in political circles had been that the former Ocean County Clerk, Scott Colabella, put the capsules in a freezer before drawing. Using the warmth and temperature, he could pick the county’s preferred candidates first.

While that was never confirmed, candidates reportedly brought heat sensors to several drawings.

The Sept. 4 response puts the county directly at odds with school board candidates Elizabeth Huber and Laura Picurro, who sued after the Aug. 10 drawing. Their lawsuit alleges they were improperly grouped with another candidate, that transparent capsules compromised the blind drawing and that Ashley Lamb’s employment as a deputy county clerk created a conflict because Lamb is also a school board candidate and the board’s president.

• The Ocean County Clerk’s Office says the Aug. 10 drawing complied with N.J.S.A. 19:14-12.
• Huber and Picurro want the drawing thrown out and redone by a clerk’s office outside Ocean County.
• The county says the challenge came too late as deadlines approach for printing and mailing November ballots.

County Says Ballot Drawing Followed New Jersey Law

In its response to Superior Court Judge Robert E. Brenner, the county argues that the drawing was open to the public and conducted by Deputy County Clerk John Catalano.

According to Catalano’s certification, paper slips were folded so the names or slogans could not be seen, placed into capsules and mixed in a covered box. Catalano said he placed the box above his line of sight and reached inside without looking.

“One capsule was drawn from the box at a time, by reaching into the box without looking into or viewing into the box,” Catalano certified. He also said Ashley Lamb “was not present in the room where the ballot drawing occurred” or in adjoining rooms during the process.

There is no photographic or video evidence of the drawing to speak of or confirm that process.

That account directly challenges one of the central arguments in Huber and Picurro’s lawsuit.

Their complaint contends that using clear capsules failed to satisfy the requirement under N.J.S.A. 19:14-12 that capsules be withdrawn “without knowledge” of which one is being selected. They argue opaque capsules should have been used to guarantee a genuinely blind drawing.

The county sees the law differently.

Its response says the statute requires capsules to be the same “size, shape, color and substance,” but does not require them to be opaque. The county argues that if lawmakers intended to mandate opaque capsules, they could have expressly done so.

Candidates Disagree Over How Ballot Groups Were Created

The other major fight concerns how candidates were grouped before their names went into the drawing.

Huber and Picurro filed nomination petitions using the same slogan, “Finance, Education, Accountability.” Their lawsuit says they never submitted the separate written notice required under N.J.S.A. 19:60-8(d) asking to be bracketed with one another or with candidate Anthony Colucci.

The complaint alleges Catalano nevertheless combined Huber, Picurro and Colucci into one entry. Assuming the Lamb-Capone-Nappi group was otherwise valid, the plaintiffs contend that reduced the drawing from five entries to three and increased that group’s chance of drawing the first position from 20% to roughly 33%.

The Clerk’s Office counters that the candidates themselves identified their associations through their nomination petitions.

“The Plaintiffs voluntarily advised the County Clerk Office of their association by adopting the identical slogan and requesting the Slogan be used to associate the candidates’ names therewith,” the county’s attorney, Laura M. Benson, wrote.

The county says three capsules were used for the Toms River school board drawing, with each containing a slip identifying the slogans submitted on candidate petitions. Because each capsule was identical, the defense argues no group received an unfair advantage during the actual drawing.

That is a fundamentally different interpretation from the plaintiffs’ position. Huber and Picurro maintain that sharing a campaign slogan is not a substitute for the written bracketing procedure established under state election law.

Ashley Lamb’s County Job Becomes Part of Court Fight

The case has also put renewed attention on Ashley Lamb, who holds two roles relevant to the dispute.

Lamb is president of the Toms River Regional Board of Education, is seeking another term in November and works as a deputy Ocean County clerk. Shore News Network reported in January that Lamb was sworn in as deputy clerk alongside Catalano as John P. “Jack” Kelly began his term as county clerk.

Since taking office, county officials have said Kelly’s participation has been in an extremely limited capacity due to his chronic illnesses. Kelly’s role in the legal matter was apparent by his absence in the filings and at the drawing, confirming his lack of participation.

Huber and Picurro argue that even if Lamb did not personally participate in the drawing, having the office that employs her administer a drawing determining her ballot position created a structural conflict and undermined the appearance of independence.

The county rejects that argument.

“There has been no factual assertion that Ashley Lamb participated in the conduct of the Ballot Position Drawing in any way or used her employment to obtain some advantage in the ballot position drawing,” the county’s filing states.

Catalano’s certification goes further, stating that Lamb was not present in the room or ancillary adjoining rooms during the drawing.

The dispute comes as Lamb campaigns with fellow incumbent James Capone and Gerald Nappi. Shore News Network reported this week on the slate’s Sept. 15 campaign fundraiser, where sponsorship packages are being offered for as much as $2,500.

Ballot Printing Deadline Adds Pressure to Court Case

Time is becoming an increasingly important part of the county’s defense.

The drawing occurred Aug. 10, while the lawsuit was filed Aug. 28. The county says Huber and Picurro waited more than two weeks to challenge the process despite the drawing being public.

Under the timeline cited by the county, official ballots must be prepared for printing and mailing well before Election Day. The filing says the Clerk’s Office had developed the general election ballot for Toms River following the Aug. 10 drawing and argues that delaying the process further could interfere with election deadlines.

Huber and Picurro anticipated that argument in their original lawsuit. They sought temporary restraints preventing officials from finalizing or printing the school board portion of the ballot while allowing unrelated election preparation to continue.

Their requested final remedy is a new public drawing conducted by a neutral county clerk outside Ocean County, using opaque or otherwise fully concealing capsules and recognizing only candidate groups supported by timely written bracketing requests.

The county wants the opposite result.

“For all the foregoing reasons,” Benson wrote, the county asks that the complaint “be dismissed in its entirety and all relief sought be denied.”

That leaves Judge Brenner to resolve competing interpretations of how New Jersey’s ballot-drawing statutes apply to the candidate groupings, the capsules used in the drawing and the conflict claim involving Lamb.

No finding in the materials reviewed establishes that Lamb, Catalano or Kelly manipulated the drawing. Huber and Picurro’s assertions remain allegations being contested by the county, and the Sept. 4 filing represents the defendants’ response to those claims.

The Ocean County Clerk wants the lawsuit dismissed.
The Sept. 4 filing asks Judge Robert E. Brenner to dismiss Huber and Picurro’s complaint in its entirety and deny the requested relief.

Huber and Picurro are seeking a completely new ballot drawing.
They want the Aug. 10 result vacated and a new public drawing conducted by a neutral county clerk outside Ocean County using concealing capsules.

Ashley Lamb’s dual roles are part of the dispute.
Lamb is a Toms River school board candidate and president who also works as an Ocean County deputy clerk, but the county says she did not participate in the drawing.

Sources: Sept. 4, 2026 Ocean County Clerk defendants’ court filing and John Catalano certification; Aug. 28, 2026 verified complaint and supporting memorandum in Huber v. Office of the Ocean County Clerk; Shore News Network archives.