Ten candidates on ballot in next Helmetta election

Ten candidates on ballot
in next Helmetta election
Raczynski, Tidd, Molino and Martin will vie
for seat of mayor
By jennifer dome
Staff Writer

HELMETTA — Last week’s primary election results show that residents will have an abundance of candidates to choose from in the November general election.

In addition to the six candidates running on the Democratic and Republican tickets, two independent parties have sprung up that will offer residents four more choices to fill the three seats on the governing body that will expire Dec. 31. Those three seats belong to Mayor Frank Hague and council members Cay Dufau and Charles Molino.

Since Hague, a Democrat, has chosen not to run, the party is running longtime Board of Education President Barbara Raczynski for mayor. Incumbent Dufau is also running on the Democratic ticket, along with newcomer Jeff Squire, who will be on the ballot after winning in the primary election as a write-in candidate.

The Republicans are running Andrew Tidd for mayor and Peter Karczewski and Sharon Navarro for the council.

Molino, who was previously elected to the council as a Democrat, is running for mayor under "The Right Choice" ticket.

Under "The People’s Voice" independent party, borough employee Nancy Martin will run for mayor, and former councilman Thomas Reid and Vincent Asciolla will seek election to the Borough Council.

Martin is currently employed as the borough’s part-time tax collector, but went public with her complaint in January that the Borough Council did not reappoint her to her other positions, thereby reducing her salary from $42,000 to $14,000. She was not reappointed as the borough’s water and sewer rate collector and construction control employee. She said at the time that she felt she was "mistreated" by the governing body for political reasons.

Though Molino is now independent and is among those challenging the Democratic mayoral candidate, he said he remains loyal to the Democratic Party. However, he said he wanted to continue serving the borough regardless of his party affiliation.

"This is in no way, shape or form a show of disrespect for Barbara Raczynski," Molino said, adding that he explained to Raczynski his reasons for running for mayor as an independent.

"I’m very concerned about partisan politics in this town," Molino said.

Another independent candidate who said he is concerned about party politics is Reid, who served as a Democrat on the council for six years but was unsuccessful in his bid for re-election as a Republican last year.

Reid said he felt he was disliked by the Democratic Party because he didn’t always vote along party lines.

"If you don’t vote for them, you’re out," he said.

Reid has criticized Tidd for trying to take over the borough’s Republican Party, although Tidd responded by stating that he won the nomination to run as the Republican’s mayoral candidate fairly.

While it was rumored that Reid might run for mayor this year, Reid said he would rather sit on the council "where my vote counts." In the borough’s form of government, the mayor only votes in the event of a tie.

Tidd, the owner of a painting company, has lived in the borough for 26 years. Runningmate Navarro is a 29-year-old licensed insurance agent and has lived in the borough since 2000.

"I decided to seek nomination after observing the way the council seems to be divided by party line, with some council people putting their own personal interests as well as those of their comrades before what would be best for the town," Navarro said.

Reid, 47, was born and raised in the borough.

Raczynski, the school board president, has said she would resign from her position effective Jan. 1 if she is elected mayor.

Squire, a resident of the borough since 1982, is employed as a lineman for PSE&G and served on the Board of Education, the Zoning Board of Adjustment before it merged with the Planning Board, and is a founding member of the Helmetta Historical Society.