Seven Democrats, including former Assemblyman Eric Houghtaling, are seeking party support for an open seat on the Neptune Township Committee at a county committee meeting on Saturday.
Due to a serious illness, Committeeman Michael Brantley has not attended a governing body meeting since June; in the absence of a resignation letter – it’s unclear if Brantley had the competence to sign one – the township committee voted last month to declare the seat vacant.
The local Democratic organization will select three candidates to submit to the township committee, which can either pick one or return the selection process to the county committee.
Houghtaling, a former mayor, is seeking a political comeback. He served as a township committeeman for five years before winning a State Assembly seat in 2015. He lost re-election in 2021, and unsuccessfully sought party support for another Assembly campaign earlier this year.
Kevin McMillan, a former mayor and Assembly candidate who spent eighteen years on the township committee before losing party support for a seventh term, is also seeking Brantley’s seat. McMillan is a plaintiff in a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of organization lines.
A former Neptune school board member, Jason Jones, is seeking the seat. Jones was fired as the Roselle school administrator in 2018 after using public funds to purchase a vehicle without the school board’s permission.
Also running: Ava Johson, a Democratic state committeewoman and CWA leader; Bryan Acciani, a planning board member; Richard Schlossbach, a realtor and the brother of 2023 Democratic county commissioner candidate Arthur Schlossbach; and Derrell Stroud, a former Democratic operative who ran for lieutenant governor in 2017 on a ticket with independent Gina Genovese.
One of the issues in tomorrow’s vote is the future of the township’s beleaguered business administrator, Gina LaPlaca.
The winner of the seat will serve the remainder of Brantley’s term, which expires at the end of 2024.