After several weeks of consideration, First Commerce Bank manager John Crisafulli has withdrawn his candidacy to become the Democratic nominee for Toms River Mayor.
As reported by Lakewood Alerts on Monday, primary winner John Furey withdrew from being the Democratic nominee, leaving Toms River Democrats without a candidate to run against Republican Dan Roderick in the November mayoral election.
For a while, Crisafulli – a close friend of the Orthodox Jewish community in Lakewood – was making moves to be named the replacement candidate atop the ballot. However, Lakewood Alerts has learned that, following discussions with various political strategists and activists, Crisafulli is no longer in the running for the nomination.
Sources tell Lakewood Alerts that Crisafulli made the decision after coming to terms with the political reality on the ground in Toms River, in which Roderick is already the presumptive winner of the mayoral race.
Toms River Democrats are now back to square one, and must make a decision soon over whom to run against the powerful Dan Roderick.