Despite a contested primary in Chatham Township on Tuesday, voter turnout was at 17.27 percent, according to Township Clerk Gregory LaConte. According to numbers released from the LaConte's office, 999 Republicans and 272 Democrats voted in Tuesday's primary for a total of 1,271 out of 7,361 registered voters in Chatham Township. Of the four Republican candidates for Chatham Township Committee, 12 votes separate the top two finishers, Bailey Brower, Jr. and Kathy Abbott. Brower and Abbott earned 491 and 479 votes, respectively. Brower and Abbott each had a runningmate in their campaigns for …

Numbers for voter turnout in Chatham Borough show that under 6.5 percent of registered voters cast ballots in Tuesday's primary. Out of 5,748 registered voters, 357 came to the polls or mailed in their ballots, according to results released by Susan Caljean, the borough clerk. Over twice as many Republicans as Democrats voted in the primary, 245 compared to 112, out of 1,927 registered Republicans and 1,361 registered Democrats. No nonpartisan voters came to the polls in Chatham Borough. Of the candidates from both parties whose names appeared on the ballots in Chatham Borough, one municipal …

Chatham Borough Democrat Herb Ramo said Wednesday that he will not pursue a campaign for a seat on the council. Ramo received 14 write-in votes in the primary election Tuesday. He said that while the support in the polls was "an honor I will never forget," he does not "feel that [he] could run the type of campaign that the residents of Chatham deserve." According to the Daniel Pereira, Ramo reached out to Borough Mayor Nelson Vaughan to say that he would not accept the nomination to run for Chatham Borough Council on the Democratic ticket. Periera is the campaign manager for Vaughan's …

Out of 1,927 registered Republican voters in Chatham Borough, no more than 215 voted for any single Republican candidate in Tuesday's primary. The borough also has 1,361 registered Democrats. The borough's current mayor, Nelson Vaughan, was the only candidate anywhere on the Democratic ticket to garner 100 votes. Vaughan's Republican challenger in the general election, sitting Council Member Bruce Harris, won 205 votes. The two Republicans for Borough Council, Gerald Helfrich and sitting Council President James Lonergan, garnered 212 and 215 votes, respectively. Primary elections in Chatham …

Kathy Abbott and incumbent Bailey Brower Jr. prevailed in Tuesday's Republican primary and will run uncontested in November's general election for the township's two open committee seats. According to Township Administrator Tom Ciccarone, Brower earned the most votes with 491, followed by Abbott with 479. Laura Ali Nonnenmacher and Jeff Furbish had only one vote's difference between them, with 467 and 466 votes, respectively. Of 7,361 registered voters, 1,903 votes were cast for one or more of the candidates. This number, which does not reflect total voter turnout, represents 25.85 percent of…

Patch did voter turnout checks throughout the day at the various polling spots in Chatham Borough and the answer was always the same:  What turnout? From the Chatham Borough Firehouse and Milton Avenue School (MAS) in late morning to Washington Avenue School (WAS) and the Chatham United Methodist Church in late afternoon, there just wasn’t much action as voters were scarce. “I think it will be a record all-time low,” said one poll worker at the Firehouse, who attributed it to the fact that there is no real contest among the candidates. Another poll worker mentioned the fact that many people …

In a day characterized by low turnout among voters in the first eight hours of polling, Chatham Township Committee candidate Jeff Furbish remains optimistic. "It sounds like a good turnout here in in District 2," Furbish said after voting at Long Hill Chapel late Tuesday afternoon. "We'll know soon enough." Furbish is one of four Republican candidates for two available seats on the committee. He ran jointly with sitting Committee Member Bailey Brower, Jr. No Democrats registered for the race, and independent candidates have until Tuesday to file for the general election in November. Of the …

Chatham Township Committee candidate Laura Ali Nonnenmacher spoke with Chatham Patch after she voted early Tuesday afternoon in the June primary. "Idon't know how it's going to end up, so I'm not being presumptuous," she said. "But I feel good, and I feel very grateful for the amount of support that I've gotten from just about everybody I've talked to." Nonnenmacher is one of four Republicans running for two available seats on the Township Committee. With no Democrats running, the two candidates with the most votes Tuesday will move forward to an uncontested general election. Nonnenmacher ran…

Sitting in an unassuming chair in the corner of the Briarwood Coachlight Club House, Francis "Joe" Lang could almost be a poll worker. Except he is not sitting behind a table, like the other poll workers. He does not sign voters into the book or walk them over to the polling booths. Instead, Lang, 70, is at the District 10 polling place in Chatham Township, according to official instructions, to observe the election. Lang is an official challenger for Bill Eames' campaign for State Senator from the 27th district. Eames is running as a Tea Party candidate. "He's not the regular Republican …

Township Committee candidate Kathy Abbott was all smiles as she walked into the Corpus Christi auditorium to vote Tuesday. "We've been canvassing," Abbott said of herself and running mate Laura Ali Nonnenmacher. "We've been getting people riled up." With no Democrats running for committee, the winners of Chatham Township's primary will go into an uncontested general election in November. "I think we've gotten the word out that this is an important election for Chatham Township," said Abbott. Abbott, a member of the Environmental Commission for nearly 10 years, said she plans to attend the …

Voters were scarce in Chatham Borough as polls opened. Poll workers at Milton Avenue School said they had three voters come in between 6 and 7 a.m. Tuesday. The Chatham United Methodist Church had the same number of voters in the first 90 minutes of voting. The polls at ECLC had had six voters, three of them poll workers. Turnout, Borough Clerk Susan M. Caljean said, was "extremely low" so far Tuesday. "Hopefully things will pick up today," she said. Barbara Hall, a former borough mayor who volunteered as a poll worker Tuesday, said she thought there was an attitude of apathy among voters …

Tuesday is Primary Day throughout New Jersey. Before you head out to vote, here are some things you need to know: I am a township resident. Whom can I vote for? Kathy Abbott, Laura Ali Nonnenmacher, Bailey Brower, Jr. and Jeff Furbish are the four Republican candidates running for two available seats on the Chatham Township Committee. No Democratic candidates are running, which means the two candidates with the most votes on Tuesday will sit on the committee beginning next January. Furbish and Bailey are running together, as are Abbott and Ali. Township Mayor Nicole Hagner has her name on the…

When Jeff Furbish moved to Chatham Township in 2003, he and his family wasted no time in getting involved. Furbish started coaching for the Recreation Department, first football, which his son played, and then basketball and baseball as well. Even though his children are no longer involved in recreational sports, he has continued to coach. He joined the Open Space Committee and the Planning Board and balanced those with a job in New York City. His wife got involved too, by joining the Chatham Emergency Squad. Furbish is one of four Republicans running in the contested primary in Chatham …

As Bailey Brower Jr. enters into the last several months of his third term on the Chatham Township Committee, he remains hopeful about a fourth. "There's still a lot of work to be done," Brower said, "and I think the people who got [things] started are the right ones to see [them] through." Brower, a lifelong resident of Chatham Township, is an active business owner (he started the Noe Pond Club with his wife Taz) and local politician. He sits on the Planning Board, the Board of Health and serves as liaison to the Senior Center. Chatham Township has changed a lot in Brower's lifetime, and in …

Laura Ali Nonnenmacher uses her maiden name on campaign signs throughout Chatham Township. She thinks enough people in town know her that they will recognize the name on Election Day. "Many of [the residents] know me as the mom running around town with her three boys ... from game to game," she said. That may be her opinion, but how many township residents know Nonnenmacher is through her work on the PTO of Southern Boulevard School, where, as president, she spearheaded fundraising efforts that she said raised $20,000 more than their goal last year. Besides working on the PTO, Nonnenmacher …