Marilyn Jacobson Fills Manasquan Council Seat

The Manasquan Borough Council and mayor on Monday appointed Republican Mariyln Jacobson to fill the council seat by former GOP Councilman Don Grasso. 

The vote, however, was tight as the four council members (Joe Bossone was absent) were split 2-2, with Patricia Connolly and Mike Mangan voting to appoint Jacobson, and Council President Ed Donovan and Owen McCarthy voting against the nod. 

Mayor George Dempsey, who only votes during ties, cast the tie-breaking vote to put Jacobson on the council for the rest of the calendar year. 

The governing body earlier this month received a list of three names — Jacobson,  — from the borough's Republican Committee and had until May 22 to council member to finish Grasso's term that expires Dec. 31. 

After the meeting, Donovan said he was disappointed with the list compiled by the Republican Party.

Sinneck and Olivera are running in November's Borough Council election, and Jacobson, with no prior experience on the council, will have a tough learning curve during her abbreviated term the next seven months, Donovan said. 

The council president added that he would have preferred to see the GOP nominate former council members, already schooled on the governing body's day-to-day operations, so one could hit the ground running. 

Donovan said he thought the GOP list was a partisan move to drum up publicity.

"But I wish (Jacobson) luck. I hope it works out," Donovan said. 

Jacobson, appointed and sworn in toward the end of the night, finished the meeting from the dais. 

"Thank you for having the confidence in me to do the job that I hope will suit the public," Jacobson said during her first public statement as a sitting council member. 

Jacobson, 68, of McLean Avenue, is married to Ronald Jacobson, a former Borough Council member. 

She has described herself as an active member of the borough's Republican Club and has served as the district four representative. 

Jacobson works at Ward Wight Sotheby's International Realty and is a certified school basketball and field hockey referee.