KEYPORT – Democrats and Republicans in Keyport are seeking the mayor’s office and two Borough Council terms in a race that could decide control of the municipal government.
On June 7, the Republican primary election and the Democratic primary election will be uncontested. The winners will earn their places on the Nov. 8 general election ballot.
Mayor Collette Kennedy, a Democrat who took office in 2019, is not seeking re-election and her four-year term will end in December.
The council terms currently held by Democrats Victoria Pacheco and Delia Sosa McDermott will also end in December. Pacheco has been a member of the governing body since 2017.
Seeking the four-year term as Keyport’s mayor are Pacheco and Republican Rose Araneo, according to the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office.
Araneo is currently a member of the Borough Council, which she joined this year. Because her council term will not end in December, her seat on the governing body will be vacated if she is elected mayor and a Republican will be appointed to succeed her on the council for one year.
The Democrats seeking the three-year council terms are McDermott and Danielle Mastropiero.
McDermott has been a member of the council since 2017.
Mastropiero is making her first bid for a council seat.
The Republicans seeking the three-year council terms are Cathleen Reilly and Melissa Vecchio.
Reilly served as an appointed member of the Keyport Public Schools Board of Education in 2021. She was unsuccessful in a bid for a new term when she ran in 2021.
Vecchio is making her first bid for Borough Council.
The council currently has a 3-3 tie among Democrats and Republicans. A sweep by the Democrats in November would maintain that tie, while Republican council victories would give the GOP a 4-2 majority or a 5-1 majority.
Any qualified resident who wants to run for mayor or Borough Council as an independent candidate has until June 7 to file a nominating petition and be granted a position on the Nov. 8 general election ballot.
