Sobkowicz Team Wins Washington Township Republican Primary

Updated at 11:51 p.m.

Washington Township Republicans picked incumbent Janet Sobkowicz as their nominee for mayor and Peter Calamari and Tom Sears as their nominees for council in the primary election Tuesday.

According to the unofficial results, Sobkowicz beat Councilman Joe D'Urso in the race for mayor with 839 votes to 584 votes.

"I'm thrilled," Sobkowicz said. "I've worked hard the last three-and-a-half years and I'm glad people see that."

Two seats on the township council are also up for election this year. Calamari had the most votes of the council candidates with 840, followed by his running mate, Sears, with 825. Lauren Thomson had 529 and incumbent Councilman Fred Goetz received 510 votes.

Democrat Rosa D'Ambra, the party's sole candidate for the council, received 46 votes.

Sobkowicz campaigned on her efforts to "maintain the town's residential character."

"The town has always been small and residential, and I want to keep it that way," she said during the campaign.

Sobkowicz is a longtime member of the Washington Township government, having first been elected to the council back in the 1980s and serving there through several terms. She was first elected mayor in 2009.

Sobkowicz had previously allied herself with D'Urso and Goetz, but there have been numerous disagreements between the mayor and council in the years since they were elected.

Her current running mates will be new to the council if elected in November, but have previous experience with the town government. Calamari is a frequent attendee at township council meetings and a member of numerous local groups. Sears is a longtime firefighter, the township's current fire director and a member of the planning board. 

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