Brick Democrats pick three candidates to replace Ducey

Hours after the State Senate confirmed Brick Mayor John Ducey to serve as a Superior Court Judge, the local Democratic organization met tonight to advance the names of Lisa Crate, Tom Curtis and Eileen Della Volle as candidates to replace him.

It will be up to the 6-1 Democratic majority township council to pick one of the three names to become interim mayor, or send the candidates back to the Democratic county committee to make the selection for them.

Crate is the council vice president and the president of the Jackson Education Association. 

Curts is a commissioner of the Brick Municipal Utilities Authority and an IBEW member.

Della Volle is a Democratic State Committeewoman from Ocean County and a candidate for State Assembly in the 10th district in 2019.

The council has a meeting tomorrow and the appointment of a new mayor could be done then, although it’s not on their agenda.

The interim mayor is expected to run in a special election to fill the last 25 months of Ducey’s term.

If Crate is selected, Brick Democrats will need to fill her council seat.

Assemblyman John Catalano (R-Brick) is not seeking re-election to the Assembly and is running for mayor. 

Ducey had won three terms in the heavily Republican town by wide margins based on his own popularity.  It’s not clear whether Democrats will be able to hold the post against Catalano, a local businessman and former councilman.