Where the real power lies

Neither residents nor politicians should ever underestimate the political clout that Manal-apan’s Covered Bridge adult community holds.

No better example of that was ever provided than on Election Day, Nov. 4, when a majority of Manalapan residents who do not live in Covered Bridge and who went to the polls soundly rejected the re-election bid of incumbent Democratic Township Committeeman Drew Shapiro.

Republican Joseph Locric-chio, who was making his first bid for public office, won 14 of Manalapan’s 22 voting districts and outpolled Shapiro by a count of 2,826 to 2,341 votes.

Shapiro, who is serving as Manalapan’s mayor in 2003, won only eight districts and the absentee ballot count but still managed to come out on top.

How did Shapiro win re-election with only 14.4 percent of Manalapan’s 21,734 registered voters voting for him? The answer is simple.

The residents of Covered Bridge — who live by one simple political rule: What have you done for me lately? — overwhelmingly voted for Shapiro.

There are four voting districts in the Covered Bridge I and Covered Bridge II adult communities. The residents delivered Shapiro — who lost the rest of the township by 485 votes — a 573-vote margin of victory (791-218) that made up the deficit and accounted for his final 88-vote margin over Locricchio (3,132-3,044).

The numbers from the Covered Bridge districts say it all: Shapiro won them by counts of 192-46, 212-62, 218-43 and 169-67.

Manalapan officials know where their bread is buttered, and they do their best to keep the residents of Covered Bridge happy. Who wouldn’t, given those Election Day results?

The Republicans are in a classic Catch-22 situation right now that they will have to find their way out of if they ever hope to return to municipal government.

Covered Bridge residents might vote for Republicans, if Republicans on the Township Committee would do something for them. But there are no Republicans on the committee who can do things for Covered Bridge residents because the Republicans cannot win in Covered Bridge and gain a foothold on the committee.

The seat of political power in Manalapan is not at town hall. It is clearly in the voting booths at Covered Bridge.