Republicans Sweep Cranford Township Committee Race

Cranford Republicans Andis Kalnins and Lisa Adubato Nesi secured an unexpected victory in Tuesday's Township Committee race, defeating Incumbent Mayor Daniel Aschenbach and his running mate Thomas Hannen Jr.

According to the results provided by Township Clerk Tara Rowley Tuesday night, Kalnins and Adubato Nesi garnered 2,727 votes and 2,698 votes respectively to defeat Aschenbach, who earned 2,351 votes and Hannen, who earned 2,511 votes. The election yielded a 33 percent voter turnout. Results are unofficial until certified by Union County Clerk Joanne Rajoppi.

A veteran of over a quarter century in Cranford politics, Aschenbach, who was seeking his seventh non-consecutive term on Township Committee, was surprised at the results of the local election. As he stood surrounded by supporters at Kilkenny House, the mayor expressed that although he was shocked by the results, he couldn’t help but feel proud of the 18 years of leadership and dedication to Cranford residents.

“Every campaign is different. These things happen; it’s a midterm election with very low voter turnout. I won’t say whether voters were right or wrong. I would have liked to continue serving the people of Cranford,” Aschenbach said.

When asked how he plans to continue to serve his community going forward, he said “when asked to serve, I will serve. Now I have to get used to not being in a leadership role. I am very surprised at how this turned out, but I wish them (the winning candidates) the best of luck."

Aschenbach has been elected to the Township Committee in 1986, 1989, 1992, 2000, 2003 and 2008. He was defeated in races for the Township Committee in 1984, 1985 and 1995. He served as the township’s mayor in 1993, 2003, 2006 and 2011.

Will he run again? Aschenbach gave no definite responses only hinting, "never say never."

Hannen, who was with Aschenbach and fellow Democrats when the results started to trickle in, didn't have an official comment on his loss to the GOP candidates. He served four terms on the Winfield Township Committee in the 1970s and 1980s and was the Mayor of Winfield for several years. He was also elected as a tax assessor in Winfield. He is the owner of a plastics recycling company in Linden.

Kalnins, who ran unsuccessfully in 2010, knows what it feels like to lose an election. He was overjoyed to have secured a win this time around.

“I think we won because we were honest about the issues that matter to Cranford residents. We have a lot of work to do to make sure that we keep those promises,” Kalnins said.

With issues such as , the proposed development of property on and property taxes at the forefront of this year's election, candidates vying for the two open seats on the governing body spent the last few months discussing their plans for flood control and ending overdevelopment. Kalnins clearly stated what he plans to do differently with regards to key concerns such as flooding, Birchwood development and property taxes. 

“We are going to fight quickly and definitely which is something the former administration couldn’t do. In order to combat property taxes, we are going to do line item revenue of the budget to come up with a sustainable process instead of one time fixes that we’ve seen before," Kalnins said. "In regards to flooding, we are going to push for dreading and push to complete projects that we have control of while working for regional solutions.”

Kalnins stated that he will also work to improve cooperation within the committee to increase “mutual support” on crucial decisions.

As word of the GOP victory spread thoughout the lower level of Garlic Rose Bistro, where Republicans awaited the results, Adubato Nesi said she was grateful to residents for their support.

"We're very grateful and we want to thank everyone who helped us out," she said.

The commissioner-elect said that as they began getting results earlier in the day, they were hopful, but "as the day was going on, it was impossible to tell "who would secure the two seats on the Township Committee.

Republican Township Commissioner David Robinson, who will now share the dias with two more members of the GOP, said he believes this is "the right result."

"I'm thrilled and I think it just shows the intelligence of Cranford voters," Robinson said. "They sat up and they took note and they votes according."

Rita Labruto, an outspoken member of the GOP and a regular at Township Committee metings, said she thought the race would be much tighter, but she was pleased with the end result.

"I think the town sent a message," Labruto said Tuesday night.

According to the Clerk's office, of the 15,825 registered voters in Cranford, a total of 5,293 went to the polls to cast their ballots in Tuesday's election.