Politics

TAKING THE OATH – Mayor Phil Kramer takes the Oath of Office while his wife, Laurie, looks on. Councilmember Ed Potosnak was voted in as Deputy Mayor at the January 2 Township Council reorganization meeting. Also at the meeting, re-elected At-Large Councilmembers Kimberly Francois and Ram Anbarasan and newcomer Alex Kharazi and Mayor Phil Kramer were sworn in. The Council …

Once again, Franklin Township is represented on a statewide political power list. This time it’s Insider NJ’s Insider 100 Power List 2023. Representing the township on the list are Franklin Township Police Det. Pat Colligan and Township Councilmember Ed Potosnak. Colligan, who is also the head of the state PBA, is a veteran of statewide power lists. Insider NJ ranked …

CHECKING THE NUMBERS – Board of Education candidates Bill Grippo and Erica Inocencio check the tally board at Par2Play on November 7. The Democratic Mayoral and Township Council slate, and a slate of Board of Education candidates which includes an incumbent, appear to be on the road to victory in the November 7 General Election. The candidates enjoyed leads in …

DEFENDING HIS RECORD – Republican Mayoral Candidate Brian Levine says information about past legal difficulties released recently by Somerset County Democrats is just a “diversion.” (File photo). The Republican candidate for Township Mayor has denounced as a “smear campaign” and a “mountain out of a molehill” the revelation by Somerset County Democrats that he had been removed as executor of …

A “Why We Vote” town hall meeting is set for 6-8 p.m. October 26 at Franklin Middle School – Sampson G. Smith campus, 1649 Amwell Road. The town hall is sponsored by the Central Jersey Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, the League of Women Voters of the Greater New Brunswick Area (GNBA), the New Brunswick Area Branch …

NOT RUNNING – Board of Education members Michael Smith and Nishita Desai will not run for re-election this year. Only one incumbent is among the seven candidates who have filed petitions to run for three open Board of Education seats. Incumbent Bill Grippo is joined on the “Vote All Three” slate by newcomers Erika Innocencio and Jimmie Parker, III. Current …

Patrick Colligan Patrick Murray Two people with Franklin ties are among 100 state residents recognized by an online publication as being among the most powerful non-elected political figures in New Jersey. The 2023 edition of the New Jersey Globe’s “Power List” includes Patrick Murray, a township resident and head of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, and Patrick Colligan, a township …

FORMER CHAIRMAN – Bob LaCorte, left, longtime leader of township Republicans, resigned in the middle of an effort to oust him from his position. (File photo.) The longtime chairman of the Franklin Township Republican Municipal Committee earlier this year resigned in the midst of a bid by dissatisfied committee members to oust him. Bob LaCorte, who served as the Municipal …

A Republican candidate for Township Council has been disqualified by the Township Clerk on residency issues. James Holzheimer, a retired Franklin Township Police Officer, had hoped to run for one of the three At-Large Council seats up for grabs in November. But his petition for the June 6 primary election was disqualified by Township Clerk Ann Marie McCarthy, she said …

Township Democratic and Republican candidates for Mayor and At-Large Township Council seats submitted their nominating petitions for the June 6 primary election. The deadline for submissions was 4 p.m. March 27 The candidates are: Democrats (all incumbents, except for Kharazi): Mayor: Phil Kramer Township Council: Kimberly Francois, Ram Anbarasan, Alex Kharazi Republicans: Mayor: Brian Levine Township Council: Alhaji Noah Fofanah, …