General Election Day Nov. 5

As the New Jersey general election approaches, Sussex County residents will have the opportunity to vote for candidates for the Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders, State Assembly, and the Sparta Township Board of Education, as well as to weigh in on immigration enforcement.

State Assembly

Republican incumbents Parker Space and Hal Wirths will be challenged by Democrats Deana Lykins and Dan Solomon Smith for two General Assembly seats.

Running on the slogan “People Over Party,” Lykins and Smith would be the first Democrats elected by the 24th district to the Legislature since 1973. Smith is a former municipal court judge and attorney. Lykins, who describes herself as a “moderate Democrat,” has worked previously as a deputy counsel for the NJ Office of Legislative Services.

Sussex County Board of Freeholders

On the Sussex County Board of Chosen Freeholders, two out of five seats will be contested. Republican candidates Sylvia Petillo and Anthony Fasano are the only two names officially on the ballot.

Petillo, a current Freeholder, is also the former mayor of Hopatcong. She will be seeking her second three-year term. Fasano, who is currently the Hopatcong Board of Education President, has made education funding a primary issue of his campaign.

Democrat Kristy Lavin, a family and child psychotherapist, is also running as a write-in candidate for the all-Republican freeholder board. Lavin, a lifelong Sussex County resident, has previously worked for non-profits such as the Center for Prevention and Counseling, and advocated for victims of drug addiction, as well as sexual assault victims.

Sparta Township Board of Education

On the Sparta Township Board of Education, five candidates are vying for three open seats.

The ballot includes:

· William N. Washer III

· James Todd Muth

· Kimberly A. Bragg

· Kurt Morris

· Niamh A. Grano

Washer, whose slogan is “Sparta First,” is running on the issue of fiscal responsibility.

Grano, Morris, and Bragg have bracketed, running on the slogan “Academics, Transparency, Community.” Bragg is a current member of the BOE, whereas Grano and Morris would be newcomers.

Public Questions

A single statewide question will appear on the ballot. New Jersey voters will decide whether or not to approve a constitutional amendment allowing veterans who move into continuing-care retirement communities (CRCC) to continue to receive the value of an existing $250 property-tax deduction for eligible veterans who own their homes.

The property tax deduction would be given to the CCRC, with the amount being determined by how many eligible veterans reside there. The community would then be required to pass on the value of the deduction to each eligible veteran resident.

Currently, the $250 property-tax deduction is only given to veterans who live in private residences.

Sussex County residents will also be offered a question on immigration enforcement.

In August, the Sussex County Board of Freeholders voted to place a public question on the ballot asking voters if the county should “cooperate with and make reasonably available to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents the tools, resources, personnel, and real, personal and intellectual property owned by the County, under its direct control.”

Initially, the board had proposed a ballot question which would have allowed the Sussex County sheriff to ignore the “immigrant trust directive” issued by NJ Attorney General Gurbir Grewal in November of last year. The directive limits the type of voluntary assistance that state, county, and local law enforcement agencies can provide to federal civil immigration authorities such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“These new rules are designed to draw a clear distinction between local police and federal civil immigration authorities, ensuring that victims and witnesses feel safe reporting crimes to New Jersey’s law enforcement officers,” Grewal said in a statement released last November.

The Sussex County public question would seek to “ascertain the sentiments” of Sussex County voters as to whether or not the Board of Freeholders should comply with this directive.

The New Jersey general election will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 5. NJ voters can find their polling locations by going to https://voter.njsvrs.com/elections/polling-lookup.html.