Politics

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, …

State Assemblyman and township resident Joe Danielsen was endorsed by the Somerset County Democratic Committee in the 2023 primary for the Assembly’s 17th District. Also endorsed were Danielsen’s District 17 running mates, state Sen. Bob Smith and Assemblyman Joe Egan. Danielsen is running for his fifth full two-year term on the Assembly. He replaced former Assemblyman Upendra Chivukula in 2014 …

Alex Kharazi, leader of the township Interfaith Coalition, has been tapped by township Democrats to run for a Township Council At-Large seat. (File Photo). A political newcomer and three incumbents will carry the banner for township Democrats in the June 6 primaries for Mayor and At-Large Township Council members. Leading the ticket will be Mayor Phil Kramer, who is seeking …

WILL NOT RUN – Township Councilwoman Crystal Pruitt announced at the February 28 Council meeting that she will not seek a second full term on the governing body. Citing the travel demands of her job as the reason behind her decision, Township Councilwoman Crystal Pruitt announced February 28 that she would not run for re-election this November. Pruitt, a Democrat …

ON POWER LIST – Former Township Councilwoman Shanel Robinson is included in the 2023 edition of InsiderNJ’s African-American Power List. Nine people who either live in Franklin Township or are connected to the Eight Villages are included in InsiderNJ’s 2023 African-American Power List. InsiderNJ is “a nonpartisan website dedicated to political news in the state of New Jersey,” according to …

Election workers bring voting machine tapes to the municipal building. The three Board of Education incumbents were victorious, and the public question concerning energy aggregation was passed in the November 8 election, according to the final results certified by the Somerset County Clerk. In the school board election, Walter Jackson led all candidates with 10,693 votes, Nancy LaCorte came in …