Non-partisan local elections will be held in 28 municipalities today, and Republican gubernatorial candidates Christopher Christie and Steven Lonegan will hold their first official televised debate tonight.
Key mayoral races will be held in Jersey City, where the popular incumbent, Jerramiah Healy, must win 50% of the vote in a five-man field to avoid a runoff; in Passaic, where newly-elected Mayor Alex Blanco faces voters for the second time in six months; in Hoboken, where David Roberts is stepping down after two terms; and in Hillside, Robbinsville, and West Windsor.
New Jersey Network (NJN) will air the debate, sponsored by Gannett New Jersey and the Philadelphia Inquirer, at 8PM. It will be available on streaming video at njn.net. NJN News anchor Jim Hooker will be the moderator, and NJN reporter Zach Fink will offer debate commentary on Twitter.
NJN Senior Political Correspondent Michael Aron will host a post-debate analysis on NJN2 and njn.net will Seton Hall University Prof. Joe Marbach, Rutgers University Prof. Ingrid Reed, former EPA Regional Administrator Alan Steinberg, and former State Sen. Richard LaRossa. Marbach, Steinberg and LaRossa are unpaid contributors for PolitickerNJ.com.
A second GOP debate, sponsored by the League of Women Voters of New Jersey, will be held at 11AM on Sunday, May 17 on WABC-TV/Channel 7 in New York and on WPVI-TV/Channel 6 in Philadelphia.
A third candidate, Assemblyman Rick Merkt (R-Mendham), will join Christie and Lonegan in two other debates: New Jersey 101.5 on May 26 at 7PM, and WOR 710 on May 27 at 4PM.
Voters in ten municipalities going to the polls to elect a Mayor: Jersey City, Hoboken, Passaic, Hillside, West Windsor, Robbinsville, Byram, Stafford, Tinton Falls, and Island Heights. Municipal elections will also be held in Asbury Park, Avalon, Audubon Borough, Bordentown City, Cedar Grove, Collingswood, Evesham, Hackensack, Haddonfield, Lyndhurst, Millville, Monmouth Beach, Pohatcong, South Orange, Tavistock, Verona, West Cape May, and Wildwood Crest.
