Avallone to seek re-election to Freehold Twp. committee
Petition from Democrat is not certified by township clerk
BY MARK ROSMAN
Staff Writer

Dorothy Avallone

FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP - A nominating petition filed by a would-be Democratic candidate for Township Committee has been disqualified, and as of now that individual is not eligible to run for a seat on the town's governing body.

At this point it appears that Repub-lican Township Committeewoman Dorothy Avallone, who is serving as mayor in 2007, will run unopposed in November.

Township Clerk Romeo Cascaes told the News Transcript on April 11 that he had not certified a nominating petition submitted by Derek Sanford, of Augusta Court.

As of the filing deadline of April 9, Sanford and Avallone had submitted nominating petitions to run for a seat on the committee. The seat carries a three-year term.

Cascaes certified the nominating petition of Avallone, who has served on the governing body for more than 20 years.

Sanford's petition was not certified for a number of reasons, according to Cascaes.

The clerk said Sanford is not registered to vote in Freehold Township. Candidates must be registered in the town where they are running for office. Sanford's petition had the minimum number of signatures required, 19, but three people who signed were not registered to vote at all, as required to sign, and they were disqualified; and four people who signed Sanford's petition were registered Republicans and not eligible to sign a nominating petition for a Democrat, and they were disqualified; leaving Sanford with only 12 signatures, according to Cascaes.

Cascaes said Sanford has recourse available through the court system if he wishes to challenge the noncertification of his petition.

A call to telephone information revealed that Sanford has a nonpublished telephone number. He could not be reached for comment.

At this point Avallone will be unchallenged for a new three-year term on the committee. She served on the committee from 1984-86, did not serve in 1987, and has served from 1988 through today. A resident of the township since 1969, Avallone said good government and common sense have been the prevailing wisdom followed by members of the governing body.

She said common sense is applied in the way the committee keeps up with infrastructure needs on an annual basis, as well as the way Freehold Township's government has provided for police and recreation needs as the community has grown.

Avallone said that in the past year the state Department of Transportation did a good job completing road improvement projects on Route 9 and Route 33. She said the DOT is now looking at possible improvements at two other locations in town: the intersection of Wemrock Road and Route 33, and the intersection of Pond and East Freehold roads.

"The growth in our town has been tremendous, but it has been controlled with zoning that was put into place and has been kept in place," she said. "We want to continue the good government, although I'm certain there are things we can improve. We have tried to give our residents everything they want and need."

She said residents have come to know that when they go to sleep at night there is police, fire and first aid protection in place in the township to keep them safe.

Avallone said one "pie in the sky" project she would like to see come to fruition someday is a library in Freehold Township. The township is a member of the Monmouth County Library System and residents may use any of the system's branches, but there is no branch in the township. She said people have mentioned this to her over the years she has been in public service.

Avallone presently serves on the all-Republican Township Committee with David Salkin, Eugene Golub, Ray Ker-shaw and Anthony Ammiano.