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Denice DiCarlo defeats Jeff Hansen by just 99 votes in the township committee election.

Read all of West Deptford Patch's election season coverage at our special topic page.

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West Deptford School Board Race Will Be Uncontested in November

Just three candidates filed by Tuesday's deadline.

Forget about a contested 2012 school board race in West Deptford. In stark contrast to the eight-way race last year, just three candidates filed for the three seats open this year, rendering the November election almost a moot point. Incumbent Peter Guzzetti will run, along with Tom Lee and David Kline, according to a report issued by the county clerk’s office Tuesday evening, a few hours after the filing deadline. Incumbent James Mehaffey had said previously he wasn’t going to run for another term, and incumbent Don Hicks opted not to run for his seat, as well. The school board moved the election with a February vote at least in part to take advantage of increased turnout, which is now less of an issue, barring a write-in campaign. With …

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Low Turnout in Uncontested West Deptford Primary

A little more than 1,000 voters came out to the polls Tuesday.

A year after a rancorous Republican primary drove registered Republicans out to the polls in heavier-than-usual turnout, the numbers were flipped Tuesday, as Democrats outpolled Republicans in a pair of uncontested West Deptford committee primaries. Incumbent Denice DiCarlo got 664 votes to capture 99 percent of the Democratic turnout, with six write-in votes, according to the unofficial results. Republican challenger Jeff Hansen received 485 votes to get all the Republican votes. While the vote totals were lower, the turnout wasn’t all that much different from last year. Roughly 765 Republicans and 459 Democrats voted in last year’s primary, a total of just 69 more voters than this year. Countywide, turnout was just over 9 percent, with …

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Bryan Littel

9:42 pm on Wednesday, June 6, 2012

By definition, the incumbent's the person holding office right now - so appointed or elected, she's it. Independents can vote, if they declare at the polls. As for the results, it was two races that didn't mean anything, since both are already into the November general. The numbers tell us more Democrats showed up this time around - whether that means anything for the general has yet to be seen.   more ›

Primary Primer: Breaking Down the Races, from Local to National

New Jersey's primary is Tuesday, June 5.

New Jersey’s primary election is just days away, and while there aren’t a lot of contested races this year, here’s what to look for Tuesday, from the local level on up to the top office in the country.  West Deptford Township Committee Only one seat is open on the township committee this year, and we can fast-forward to November: Jeff Hansen, the Regular Organization Republican candidate and current chair of the RiverWinds advisory board, is unopposed, as is Democratic incumbent Denice DiCarlo.  Gloucester County Sheriff Incumbent Carmel Morina is running unopposed on the Democratic side of the ticket. For the Republicans, Phil Dieser III is the Regular Organization Republican candidate, and will face off with Chris Marrero, who’s running …

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GOP Joins Democrats in Funding Campaign Via Professionals' Donations

Both sides have taken in thousands from attorneys, engineering firms and other professionals.

The West Deptford Republicans have taken a page from the Democrats’ playbook—one they disdained last year—raising the bulk of their campaign fund ahead of the June primary from large donations from several of the township’s new professionals, state Election Law Enforcement Commission reports reveal. The Republicans are sitting on $11,150.75 at the moment, the 29-day pre-election report shows, and more than two-thirds of that has come from professionals’ donations. The largest contributions have come from the law firm of Capehart and Scatchard, insurance broker Anderson Jackson Metts and engineers Richard Alaimo Associates, all of which donated $2,000 each so far to the fund backing Republican challenger Jeff Hansen. In addition, township …

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Jeff Hansen, Denice DiCarlo Running Unopposed in Party Primaries

The two were the only candidates to file by Monday’s deadline.

It’ll be a pair of one-horse races heading into the June primaries, as West Deptford’s Republicans and Democrats each solidified behind single candidates for the lone open seat on township committee. As expected, Denice DiCarlo, who is filling the unexpired term vacated by former mayor Anna Docimo, will run for the Democrats, while the Republicans have put forth Jeff Hansen, who chairs the RiverWinds advisory board, as their candidate. Unlike last year, there will be no challengers on either side—the splinter Gloucester County Republican organization, which ran Matt Mahon and Loran Oglesby last year, filed no candidates this year. Neither candidate was a surprise; Hansen’s name has been floated as the likely candidate since at least …

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West Deptford School Board Moves Election to November

The board took advantage of new state law that allows school elections to coincide with the general election.

Citing cost savings and the potential for increased turnout at the polls as motivation, the West Deptford school board voted 8-1 Monday to join nearly 300 districts across the state to take advantage of a new state law and move the annual school election from April to November. After a lengthy debate last month, school board members got further information from superintendent Kevin Kitchenman on the pros and cons of a move, including what other districts were doing, as well as the potential costs for keeping the election in April. While last year’s election cost West Deptford schools $11,277 to run, this year could’ve been potentially close to double that, had the election stayed in April, school board President Christopher Strano said. …

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West Deptford Republicans Seeking Candidate Applications

The deadline to submit a resume and letter of interest is looming.

Interested in running for office as a Republican? Better act quickly; the deadline is just a week away. The West Deptford Republican Party has put out a call both for candidates for township committee—there will be one seat contested this year—and for district committee seats. Interested parties should submit a resume and letter of interest by Feb. 17. to: WD Republican Party Attention Joann Priga P.O. Box 514 Thorofare, NJ  08086 District seats open currently:

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No Decision Yet On West Deptford School Board Election Date

The board discussed the new state law that would allow school elections to shift to November for the general election, but came to no decision.

Don’t count on voting for new West Deptford school board members in November this year. While no final decision was made Monday night, school board members spent about 20 minutes discussing their options under new state law, with a majority either favoring staying in April, or at least waiting to see what happens with other districts that move their elections to November, though several said they’re still undecided. The biggest concerns were over the intrusion of politics into the race, as well as the move taking away a vote on school budgets that stay within the two-percent property tax cap. “I don’t want to see this volunteer group turn into a stepping stone because people want their name on the ballot in November,” school board …

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West Deptford School Board to Weigh Options on Election Dates

A new state law allows the school board to move the school election from April to November.

A new law giving school boards the option to shift their elections to the November general election should be at the head of the discussions at one of the next few West Deptford school board meetings, said board President Christopher Strano. The new law provides multiple routes to moving the elections, and also strips away the requirement for a public referendum on the school budget for districts who go to a November school board election, as long as the budget doesn't increase by more than the 2-percent cap currently in place. While Strano said there's been a certain amount of informal talk over the potential changes, it hasn't been discussed by the full board yet. “We were waiting for the final word to come down,” Strano said. Strano …

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John Hayden

7:35 am on Saturday, January 21, 2012

Way to setup that strawman, you anonymous fool. I didn't say that we should vote down every budget, but we should have the ability to do so. It's our money. If you think that we shouldn't have the right to decide how our money is spent, then come up with a good justification. Otherwise, you're not Highly Educated, you're just an Anonymous Fool.   more ›