Vaad-Endorsed Candidates Sweep Lakewood; Kuhn Loses in Jackson; TRJCC Slate Wins Toms River School Board
Every candidate endorsed by the Lakewood Vaad won easily Tuesday night. In neighboring Jackson, voters removed Mayor Jennifer Kuhn, and in Toms River, the school board slate backed by the Jewish community swept all three seats.
Mayor Ray Coles, a Democrat, and Committeewoman Deborah Fuentes, a Republican, kept their seats on the Lakewood Township Committee. Early unofficial tallies showed each with more than 14,000 votes. Republican Fire Commissioner Moshe Raitzik had about 9,000. Democrat Samantha Stokes finished well behind.
The result continues the Vaad’s habit of backing candidates from both parties for local office. Raitzik had been the top vote-getter in the June Republican primary, finishing about 440 votes ahead of Fuentes. Some critics read that result as a warning to the township’s leadership. In the general election, the gap disappeared.
On the Board of Education, incumbents Samuel Melnik and Harriet Goldberg won new terms. Both ran without opposition under the “Common Sense Leadership” slogan. Abraham D. Reich won the third seat through a write-in campaign, with more than 8,500 write-in votes counted early. Reich was appointed to the board in August, after the filing deadline, so his name was not on the ballot.
In the Board of Fire Commissioners race, Vaad-endorsed Dovid Bender and Harrison Pfeffer won both seats. At the county and federal level, the Vaad-endorsed candidates also won: Ocean County Commissioner Frank Sadeghi, Rep. Chris Smith and Sen. Cory Booker.
The Vaad had also urged a “No” vote on a ballot question that would shrink the Board of Education from nine members to seven. A “No” result keeps the nine-member board.
Jackson will have a new mayor. Challenger Elliott Shem-Tov beat Kuhn in a three-way race. With all 34 districts reporting, unofficial results showed Shem-Tov with 10,625 votes (47.5%), Kuhn with 8,816 (39.4%) and retired law enforcement officer Brandon Rose with 2,868 (12.8%). Shem-Tov won by 1,809 votes.
Kuhn had broad support from Orthodox Jewish residents. She became mayor in October 2025, after longtime Mayor Michael Reina resigned. She was running for a full term with the backing of the Jackson GOP.
Shem-Tov’s running mates on the “Fight for Jackson” ticket also won. Councilman Chris Pollak led the council race with 12,157 votes, and Amanda Trombetta was second with 10,397. They beat Kuhn’s running mates, John “Pojo” Pejoski and Brian McCarron, for the two open council seats.
The Fight for Jackson slate called for tighter control of spending, a review of township contracts and a tougher stance on development. Pollak won a special election in 2025. Trombetta narrowly lost a council race in 2024. The new terms begin Jan. 1, 2027.
In Toms River, all three Regional Board of Education candidates endorsed by the Toms River Jewish Community Council (TRJCC) won. With all 63 districts reporting, incumbent Ashley Lamb led with 11,187 votes. Incumbent James Capone had 11,043, and newcomer Laura Picurro won her first term with 10,628.
Together, the three received 32,858 votes, 6,744 more than the next three candidates combined. The TRJCC backed the slate after the candidates promised to stop further school tax increases and find spending cuts without hurting education. School taxes in Toms River have risen nearly 30% over the past three years.
All results are unofficial until the Ocean County Clerk certifies them.
