Hazlet Voter Guide 2021: Who's On The Ballot, How To Vote

HAZLET, NJ - Two seats are up for grabs on the Hazlet Township Committee this year, and five candidates have filed for a spot. During the June 8 primary elections, Hazlet residents will be selecting two out of three Republicans to run against two Democrats in the general election. Residents will also be able to vote in the gubernatorial and legislative district primaries.

In-person voting will be available to all registered voters this year. Voters may vote in person at their assigned polling place (to locate a polling location, click here). Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Here is what you need to know about the upcoming primary elections:

What And Who Are On The Ballot?

Hazlet Township Committee

Five candidates have filed for a spot for two seats on the Hazlet Township Committee this year.

Incumbent committee members James "Skip" McKay and Tara Corcoran-Clark are seeking re-election while newcomers Carrie Virgilio, David Personette and Scott Feirstein are looking to unseat them.

McKay began his first term on the committee in 2019, serving on the Land Use Board prior to his election. He continues to serve as an active member of the Hazlet First Aid and Rescue Squad. He is currently CEO of commercial lending business Cumberland River Financial Group.

The longtime Hazlet resident graduated from Rutgers College and Rutgers Graduate School of Business, going on to serve in the U.S. Navy's Underwater Demolition Team No. 21 and SEAL Team 2.

He still mentors young men seeking to become Navy SEALs. McKay currently serves on the Hazlet Board of Education, Environmental Commission & Green Team and Recreation Advisory Committee. He is also the liaison to the Hazlet Fire Department, Hazlet First Aid and Hazlet Office of Emergency Management. Read more: Election Profile: Skip McKay For Hazlet Township Committee

Corcoran-Clark joined the five-member committee in 2019. Prior to her tenure on the township committee, she served on the legal team of Residents Against Giant Electric (RAGE), a grassroots organization that defeated a power line project.

She earned her Bachelor's Degree in Accounting from St. John's University and has worked in public accounting and in private industry as a CPA and CMA. She later earned a Masters Degree in Elementary Education from Monmouth University and has worked as an educator in the East Brunswick Public School system for over two decades.

Corcoran-Clark currently serves on the Land Use Board, Economic Development Committee, Library Commission, Environmental Commission & Green Team, Finance & Central Purchasing Committee, Recreation Advisory Committee and Swim Club Committee. She is the liaison to the Hazlet PTO and Hazlet Township Police Department. Read more: Election Profile: Tara Corcoran-Clark For Hazlet Twp Committee

Virgilio is a clinical data coordinator with 15 years of project management experience, according to LinkedIn. She graduated from Rutgers University - Newark with a Bachelors Degree in Political Science and History. She is also a Sunday school teacher at Holmdel Community United Church of Christ, according to her profile.

Five-year Hazlet resident Personette, who is running alongside Virgilio, has been a school teacher in Brooklyn for nearly 20 years. He is a mentor to college students through the OneGoal transition program and assists high school students with SAT standardized test practice. He is also partnered with NX Academy, a service to aid and motivate students during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A native New Yorker, Personette graduated SUNY Oneonta 2001 and earned his Masters in Education at Touro in 2003. He also served as a union representative for the United Federation Teachers Delegate to the Assembly for John Dewey High School in Bensonhurst. Read more: Election Profile: David Personette For Hazlet Twp Committee

Feirstein, a 33-year resident of Hazlet, is a security monitor at the domestic violence nonprofit 180 Turning Lives Around and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Law/Justice from Glassboro State College (now Rowan University). He is a retired police officer with 27 years of service under his belt, having served with the South Belmar Police Department for two years and the Marlboro Township Police Department for over 24 years. Read more: Election Profile: Scott Feirstein For Hazlet Township Committee

Are you running for local office in 2021? Contact Nicole Rosenthal at nicole.rosenthal@patch.com for information on being featured in a candidate profile and submitting campaign announcements to Patch.

13th Legislative District

Three candidates will run for two Assembly seats this year. On June 8, Monmouth County Republican voters will be asked to select two:

• Assemblywoman Serena DiMaso (incumbent)
• Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger (incumbent)
• Vicky Flynn

Whichever two Republican candidates win the June primary will go on to face the two Democrats, Erin Howard and Allison Friedman, in November. Both DiMaso and Flynn live in Holmdel; Scharfenberger lives in Middletown and used to be on the Middletown Township Committee.

Flynn is the current president of the Holmdel Board of Education. She ran unsuccessfully for a seat on the Holmdel Township Committee in 2020. DiMaso is a former Monmouth County freeholder and mayor of Holmdel.

The 13th legislative district includes Aberdeen, Atlantic Highlands, Fair Haven, Hazlet, Highlands, Holmdel, Keansburg, Keyport, Little Silver, Marlboro, Middletown, Monmouth Beach, Oceanport, Sea Bright, Rumson and Union Beach.

New Jersey Governor

Four Republicans are vying for a chance to challenge Gov. Phil Murphy in the November elections. Voters may choose one:

• Jack Ciattarelli, a former 16th Legislative District Assemblyman from 2011 to 2018 and Hillsborough resident. He previously ran for governor in 2017, coming in second in the primaries behind then-Republican nominee Kim Guadagno. Ciattarelli's platform is centered on relaxing pandemic-related restrictions and reinvigorating the New Jersey economy in the wake of the health crisis. He's already gained backing from U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew as well as multiple county chairs (including those in Bergen, Atlantic, Somerset, Essex, Salem and more) and has pivoted his focus to attacking Murphy. Read more: NJ Gov Candidate Calls For Gathering Limit, Face Mask Lift By May

• Brian D. Levine, a former Somerset freeholder and Franklin Township mayor. He held the mayoral post for 10 years until 2014, when he then ran for freeholder. He lost his bid for a third term in 2020. According to NJ 101.5, he's self-described as fiscally conservative but not ideologically, maintaining that his occupational background as a CPA would benefit New Jersey's economic compass.

• Hirsh V. Singh, a perennial candidate who has announced bids to run for governor in 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives in 2018 and the U.S. Senate in 2020. He is a businessman with a background in engineering who runs his family's security firm. Born in Atlantic City, Singh lives in Linwood and graduated from NJIT. He is trying to paint himself as the more pro-Trump Republican and Ciattarelli as too moderate.

• Philip Rizzo, a Harding Township resident, real estate developer and pastor of the conservative City Baptist church in North Bergen. He's an avowed supporter of former President Trump, takes a pro-life stance and has never run for political office.

How to vote:

The June 8 primary election will be conducted primarily in-person this year, according to the Monmouth County Clerk’s Office. Mail-in ballots for the 2021 primary election are also available, with applications to Vote by Mail sent by U.S. Mail due seven days before an election. For the June 8 primary election, the date is Tuesday, June 1.

Voters may also apply in-person at the Monmouth County Clerk’s Elections Office located at 300 Halls Mill Road in Freehold up until 3 p.m. the day before the election. When applying in person, voters can obtain and cast their mail-in ballot early. Voters may submit their ballot to the County Board of Elections for counting either in-person at the Board of Elections at 300 Halls Mill Road or via one of the County’s ballot drop box locations.

Voters who are not affiliated with a political party, but wish to participate in the partisan primary of their choice will receive mail-in ballots for both political parties. The voter must then choose which ballot to vote and vote using only the one ballot.