June 5 To Impact November Races for Toms River Council, School Board

June 5 will decide the November ballot for several races. It's not just the primary, but also the deadline for independent candidates to make it onto the ballot for the Toms River council race.

And June 5 is also the filing deadline for candidates in this year's Toms River Regional Board of Education race.

June 5 Deadline for Independent Candidates To File

Petition filing deadline for independent candidates for the general election is June 5. While that could add an independent candidate to any election on the November ballot — county freeholder, county sheriff, U.S. Senator, for example — the local race for Toms River Township Council could also be impacted.

Two council seats are up for grabs for unexpired terms: Ward 3 and Ward 4. The ballot so far features two current and a Democratic challenger for Ward 4, Eli L. Eytan, of Tennyson Avenue.

Should no independent candidate step up to race in Ward 3, incumbent Councilman Jeffrey Carr would run unoppsed.

However, Municipal Democratic Club President Nels Luthman said previously that while the club did not have a candidate in time for the party deadline, an independent candidate might emerge that the club would endorse for the Ward 3 seat.

June 5 Deadline for School Board Candidates to File

Qualified candidates for school board have until at 4 p.m. June 5 to file their nominating petitions at the County Clerk’s Office in order to have their name placed on the November 6 General Election Ballot. 

This would be the first year of a November school board election for Toms River Regional. All Ocean County School Districts, with the exception of Lakewood, opted to move their School Board elections from April to November as a result of a bill signed into law by Governor Christie in January, which then Toms River Regional to move the election locally.

Three seats are up for grabs in the first November election of the nine-member school board of Toms River Regional.

The Toms River seats for John Reuther and Gus Kakavas expire this year, as does the South Toms River seat of Jamie Ann Jubert.

The race could hold the fate of the majority of the Toms River Regional school board. Last year, three candidates running as a team campaigned as reformers in the wake of the scandal of former Superintendent . The three new board members have voted throughout the year in opposition of some school board agenda items, but do not hold the majority of the board.

Candidates will be listed in a separate section of the November ballot, as school board elections are nonpartisan.

June 5 Will Decide Republican Candidate for Senate

It's a four way race to find the Republican opponent to U.S. Senator Bob Menendez (D).

Vying for the spot on the Republican ticket: Joe Rullo, headquartered in Beachwood; Bader G. Qarmout of Newton;David-Douglas Brown of East Brunswick and District 13 State Sen. Joe Kyrillos.

County Clerk's Office Hours and Voting Times

In addition to the Clerk’s Office regular business hours (Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.) the Election Office will be open on Saturday, June 2, 9 a.m. until noon. 

The Election Office is located in the Ocean County Courthouse, 118 Washington Street, Room 107, Toms River.

Voting in the primary will be at your regular polling location, with polls open between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. June 5.