Lavallette Councilman Robert Lamb died suddenly on May 2, and with vote-by-mail ballots already out, it was too late to remove him from the Republican primary ballot.
Lamb and Councilman Michael Stogdill are unopposed, and local GOP leaders want voters to cast a posthumous vote for Lamb, a retired police sergeant. That would allow the four Republican county committee members to pick the replacement candidate – probably George Shenewolf, who was appointed in May to fill the seat on an interim basis.
But Karen Lamb, the late councilman’s widow, wants the seat, and she’s mounting a write-in campaign to secure the GOP nomination outright; this is one of the few times when a widow can run against her deceased husband, since she’ll need to defeat him in the primary in order to win the seat.
“My husband dedicated his life to serving this community with honor, transparency, and compassion,” said Lamb. “To see his name being used for political strategy after his untimely passing is not only inappropriate—it’s something Robert would never have condoned.”
She said her late husband “would want Lavallette to move forward with leadership that is accountable, caring, and above all, honest with the public.”
“This isn’t about politics—it’s about doing what’s right,” Lamb stated. “I am stepping up because I believe in carrying his legacy forward with integrity.”
A Republican councilwoman, Joanne Filippone, posted on Facebook that Lamb is trying to usurp the process of filling vacancies after failing to get enough votes to fill the unexpired term last month.
“No one is entitled to a council seat just because they want one, or just because they are related to a former council member, and certainly not under the sore loser clause,” Filippone said.
New Jersey’s Sore Loser Law doesn’t apply to candidates who sought party support for an interim appointment.
Democrats have no candidate in Lavallette, which Donald Trump won last year by 28 percentage points.
Lavallette has roughly 918 registered Republicans.
Karen Lamb’s son, Justin, is a Toms River councilman.