Dems support Lucas for Manalapan mayor
Split is now clear between Republicans on Township Committee
BY KATHY BARATTA
Staff Writer

Andrew Lucas

They may have been running mates two years ago, but the way things look now, no one should be seating them together at the same banquet table anytime soon.

The gloves were off and the battle joined when Manalapan Republican Township Committeeman Joseph Locricchio voted no to his former running mate Andrew Lucas being nominated and elected as mayor for 2007 at the Jan. 7 township reorganization meeting.

Manalapan's mayor is not directly elected by voters, but rather by a vote of the five members of the governing body each January.

Lucas, a Republican, was nominated to serve as mayor by Democratic Committeewoman Michelle Roth. Her motion to nominate Lucas was seconded by Democratic Commit-teeman Richard Klau-ber, who had just taken his seat on the committee.

When the roll was called, Roth and Klauber voted for Lucas, and Lucas voted for himself. Locricchio voted no.

This will mark the first time Lucas has served as mayor of his hometown.

Committeeman Anthony Gennaro, who is serving as an independent, was absent because of the emergency hospitalization of his father, according to a statement read for Gennaro by state Assemblyman Michael Panter (D-Monmouth and Mercer).

Roth was then elected deputy mayor by the same 3-1 vote.

Locricchio said he voted against Lucas for mayor because "it was very clear to everyone in the room what happened."

According to Locricchio, "A back room deal was made between Mr. Lucas and Mrs. Roth and Mr. Klauber." Locricchio said he and Gennaro were deliberately excluded from that deal.

Locricchio said he found it ironic that Lucas voted for Roth to serve as deputy mayor after he [Lucas] had voted to censure Roth in 2006 in response to a controversial statement her husband made at a public meeting.

Locricchio said he was not involved in the selection of the municipal professionals who were appointed on reorganization day, something he again asserted was a deliberate attempt to exclude him from the process.

The seats held by Lucas and Locricchio will be up for grabs in the November election.

Referring to himself and purporting that Gennaro, too, had been excluded from the selection of professionals, municipal board members and committee volunteers, Locricchio said, "Excluding 40 percent of the Township Committee from the process is absolutely pathetic, as is the willingness to sell out the residents and put your ego ahead of the residents."

When asked if he believes Lucas will make a good mayor, Locricchio said, "I have no idea what he is capable of. Look. Today was a heartbreaker for me. You don't betray the people you represent and you don't betray your party. Andrew Lucas betrayed the Republican Party today. You don't put your ego ahead of the party."

Regarding the process used in choosing the professionals and Locricchio's assertion that he had been excluded from the selection process, Lucas said, "Since Dec. 6, all of the proposals for the professionals were available at town hall. Mr. Locricchio had over one month to review these proposals."

Lucas said a special meeting was held on Dec. 27 for the "express purpose of interviewing the prospective professionals and appointees." He noted that for the first time, those interviews were conducted in public.

Lucas said the interviews were purposely conducted in a public forum in the interest of advancing an open process that would allow the public as well as the members of the governing body to be involved in the process.

"Mr. Locricchio was never excluded from the process. The Dec. 27 special meeting was scheduled with the express intent to interview professionals. Mr. Locricchio did not show up. If he had (shown up), he would know that everything was discussed in public with our professionals and in private out of respect for our volunteers."

Locricchio said he missed the Dec. 27 meeting due to illness.

Even considering that, Lucas said, Locricchio had until the Jan. 7 reorganization meeting to "reach out to any of us to discuss any of this and he chose not to."

As to Locricchio's assertion that Lucas was a sellout for the Democrats, Lucas said, "I firmly believe that the day you take your oath of office, while you may be a Republican or a Democrat, your first obligation is to serve the residents of Manalapan."

He said that unlike the last two years, "this year there is not a clear majority of one party or the other. The residents of Manalapan deserve elected officials who will work together regardless of party affiliation."

Following the reorganization meeting, Manalapan's Republican municipal chairman Steve McEnery told the News Transcript he was "disgusted and disappointed that Mr. Locricchio voted against his fellow Republican for selfish reasons."

McEnery said Lucas is held in high regard locally and in Monmouth County.

"No one is working harder than Mr. Lucas. He's been to all the meetings in order to build a coalition that will work for the benefit of all the residents of Manalapan and Joe (Locricchio) hasn't even bothered to show up," McEnery said.

He echoed Lucas' assertion that Locricchio had ample time between the meeting he missed on Dec. 27 and the Jan. 7. reorganization to review and discuss any municipal appointments with his fellow committee members.