SOUTH RIVER – Peter Guindi and Jason Oliveira have been re-elected to serve three-year terms on the South River Borough Council.
The Republican incumbents defeated Democratic challengers Margaret Kenny and David Pizzuto for two available council seats.
The 2021 election featured early voting in October, mail-in ballots, and in-person voting on Election Day, Nov. 2.
As of press time on Nov. 17, the four-way race saw 6,920 ballots cast. Guindi tallied 2,077 votes and Oliveira received 2,041. Kenny received 1,324 votes while Pizzuto had 1,267.
The election results are not official until certified by Midldesex County.
Guindi, who first served on the council in 2009, said he is eager to renovate abandoned properties to create more business opportunities that promote economic growth.
“South River was once a great town to shop in, visit, and be a part of. I intend to bring that back. The residents deserve more. … I’ve been working on getting old, decrepit and rundown buildings that have been abandoned with liens to possible business owners where it can be a tax ratable to the town. The borough needs ratables brought back to offset taxes. I currently have three businesses going into these buildings. My goal is to have Main Street and connecting business areas filled with commercial spaces.
“I’m also working with the Army Corps engineers on dredging the river. Flooding seems to happen all the time. Flood areas are due for a relief,” Guindi said.
Despite falling short, Pizzuto shared a statement in which he congratulated his opponents and thanked everyone for supporting his campaign.
“I enjoyed the campaign and all the things we did to put our message out there. We need to put people over politics, and I’m encouraged by how that message resonated with so many. We came up short, but Margaret and I congratulated our opponents, Peter and Jason, and wish them the best going forward. South River is a special place to live and work and I am truly indebted to those who came out in support of us,” Pizzuto said.
Oliveira and Kenny could not be reached by press time.
