Election Day is just around the corner, and Rahway voters have lots of new and old faces on the ballot when they step into the booth on Nov. 5 (or mail in their ballot).
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The race for president is taking up most of the attention but candidates will be up and down the ballot among 14 other races, including nine seats locally. Six City Council ward seats are up for new four-year terms and two slates of candidates face off for three three-year terms on the Board of Education. Incumbents are noted by an asterisk (*).
Rahway City Council
You can read previous coverage here of the NAACP Meet the Candidates Forum where candidates for City Council and Board of Education appeared. Here’s a look at what the ward boundaries look like.
1st Ward
Alfmarand “Al” Montesdeoca (D)
Jeanette Rubio (R)
2nd Ward
William J. Brenner, Jr. (R)
Karla Timmons (D)*
3rd Ward
Vannie D. Parson (D)*
Darren John Lesinski (R)
4th Ward
David Brown (D)*
Jermaine Caulder (R)
5th Ward
Barbara Czarnecki (R)
Danielle “Danni” Newbury (D)*
6th Ward
Joseph D. Gibilisco (D)*
Casey E. Granieri (R)
Rahway Board of Education
There are three available seats on the Board of Education each of which run three yeras. Candidates are permitted to run as a slate.
Children’s Education #1
Bernard P. Robson*
Najah Allen*
Shanna Raysick*
Inspire. Educate. Achieve.
Ray Lopez
Laura Bellevue
Leslie Rippon
Union County Commissioners
Further up the ballot, three three-year terms are up on the nine-member Union County Board of Commissioners:
- James E. Baker Jr. (D-Rahway)*
- Jeanne Kingsley (R-Berkeley Heights)
- Alexander Mirabella (D-Fanwood)*
- Mary O’Connor (R-Cranford)
- Kimberley Palmieri-Mouded (D-Westfield)*
- Michael Petrucci (R-Cranford)
House of Representatives, 7th Congressional District
At the federal level, Rahway is now in the 7th Congressional Districts. Three challenges are running for the two-year term currently held by Tom Kean, Jr. (R-Union), who ousted Tom Malinowski (D-Hunterdon) in 2022:
- Sue Altman (D)
- Thomas “Tom” H. Kean, Jr. (R)*
- Andrew Black (Green Party)
- Lana Leguia (Libertarian)
U.S. Senate
The only statewide office up for election is the U.S. Senate seat formerly held by Bob Menendez (D-Hudson),, where six candidates vie for a six-year term:
- Curtis Bashaw (R)
- Andrew “Andy” Kim (D)
- Kenneth R. Kaplan (Libertarian)
- Christina Khalil (Green Party)
- Joanne Kuniansky (Socialist Workers Party)
- Patricia Monneyham (Vote Better)
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