News
Rumson Republicans Retain Majority
By John Burton
RUMSON - Three out of six seats on the borough council were up for election this year, and unusual for the borough, there was a full slate of Democratic candidates challenging Republican incumbents.
Unsurprisingly, all of the Republicans won re-election by comfortable margins, but one of the Democratic candidates says he is not deterred and vows to return to the ballot again.
Voters made their choices for two three-year terms and for one, two-year unexpired term. Winning the full terms were Marc E. Rubin, with 1,815 votes, and Frank E. Shanley, who retained his seat with 1,949 votes. Benjamin W. Day Jr., who was appointed earlier this year to fill a vacancy, won his seat with 1,881 votes.
Democrats Michael Steinhorn and Danielle Haub-Richmond, who were unsuccessful in their bid to win the two full term council seats, garnered 764 and 706 votes, respectively. Philip Wagner, who challenged Day for the two-year seat, received 744 votes.
His and his running mates' victory was an affirmation of the work that the council has done, Day said on Wednesday. "I think if we hadn't been doing a good job," he noted, "people don't worry about crossing [political party] lines to make that point very clear."
Though, he added, the preponderance of votes for Republican candidates also represents the political leanings of Rumson residents. Voter registration does skew Republican in Rumson.
Steinhorn, Clover Lane, who is also the borough's Democratic municipal chairman, said while he and his running mates were unsuccessful this year, it was not a defeat.
Last year, Steinhorn ran alone for council, becoming the first Democrat to run in many years to seek a seat on the exclusively Republican council for many, many years.
"This was an important year because people got to see a full complement of Democrats running," Steinhorn said. And, he stressed, "Democrats are going to run every year in Rumson from last year on."
And given that next year will be a mayor's race, Steinhorn promised he would run for that office.
