Toms river republicans' attempted school board takeover falls short

Toms River Republicans’ Attempted School Board Takeover Falls Short

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1 min read
November 8, 2017

TOMS RIVER-The battle between Democrats and Republicans for control of the Toms River School Board ended in failure on Election night.   Republican-backed supporter, Ginny Rhine, formerly a Democrat Clean Slate Team member was the lead vote-getter with 8,408 votes.

Democrat-backed candidates Michele Williams and Michael Horgan came in second and third respectively in the election.

Solo candidate Robert Onofrietti fared well, receiving 5,000 votes, however running against two teams of three was Onofrietti’s downfall as most voters who voted for the returning board member, also cast votes for two of his opponents.  In the realm of election mathematics, Onofrietti’s showing was impressive, but a nearly impossible feat to accomplish in a race dominated by two politically and financially backed opponents.

Al Schwartz was this year’s low vote-getter with 4,932 votes.

After the dust settled, Democrats retained a 5-4 majority on the Toms River School Board, accomplishing their mission of keeping Republicans at bay.

Phil Stilton

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