LAVALLETTE — Karen Lamb, past president of the Lavallette Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary and widow of Councilman Robert “Bob” Lamb, has filed to run as an independent candidate for this year’s general election, setting up a contested Nov. 4 ballot for two council seats.
According to the Ocean County Clerk’s unofficial municipal general independent candidates list, Karen Lamb is running under the slogan “Keep Lavallette Great.” The filing deadline for the November general election was June 10.
If the candidate list is made official, the race will be between Lamb, incumbent GOP Councilman Michael Stogdill and whoever is selected to receive the second Republican nomination in the wake of Councilman Bob Lamb’s death.
It is not clear how many votes Karen Lamb garnered on her own, as official tallies of the write-in votes are not yet available, but write-in candidates in the GOP primary received 205 votes total, compared to 331 for Stogdill and 310 for Bob Lamb.
Lamb told The Ocean Star in an interview last Thursday that she thought the primary election was “super,” saying that she is registered as an independent to run for the seat again in November.
“I wanted to take over my husband’s seat, and for some reason the council was not on board with me, so I decided…I’m going to register as an independent and I’m going to run in November,” said Lamb. “It’s going to be a really good election; I’m very excited. I hope to take my husband’s seat the next three years and continue his love and devotion and dedication to his beloved Lavallette.”
Councilman George Shenewolf, who was appointed to the governing body in May after the death of Councilman Bob Lamb, also filed for reelection as an independent, according to county clerk records; however, Shenewolf told The Ocean Star that his filing as an independent was to have a “backup” plan in case he is not selected by the Republican municipal county committee as the nominee to replace Bob Lamb on the ballot.
“I petitioned the signatures and submitted them more as a plan B or backup,” he said. “My hope is that the (Republican municipal county committee) will appoint me to replace Bob Lamb on the ballot; if that does not happen, then I would run as an independent, and that’s what that petition was for.”
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