One seat (the Director's seat, held by Frank Sadeghi) is on the November 3, 2026 ballot; per the Ocean County Clerk's official roster of elected officials, this is the only county commissioner term expiring in 2026. Sadeghi is unopposed within his party and faces Democrat Kia C. Phua in November; the county clerk and sheriff, both re-elected in prior cycles, and the surrogate are not up in 2026, per the Ocean County Clerk's 2026 Ocean County & Municipal Elected Officials roster.
Frank Sadeghi · RepublicanIncumbent▾
Frank Sadeghi is a certified municipal and professional engineer who owns Morgan Engineering and Arya Properties in Ocean County, per his campaign site. He holds a bachelor's degree from the New Jersey Institute of Technology and a master's degree in city and regional planning from Rutgers University, per his campaign site. He currently serves as Director of the Ocean County Board of Commissioners, per the county clerk's elected officials roster.
Priorities: Balancing land preservation with smart growth · Investing in infrastructure and education · Keeping communities affordable and safe while making county government more accountable and transparent (per the campaign site)
Kia C. Phua has worked as an MTA NYC Transit train operator for 23 years and served as a union representative for Transport Workers Union Local 100 from 2011 to 2018, per the New Jersey Globe. He was elected in May 2025 to represent Ocean County Democrats on the New Jersey Democratic State Committee, per the New Jersey Globe.
Priorities: Transparency in county government · Smart growth for the county · Putting residents first (per the campaign site)
Two seats are on the November 3, 2026 ballot (the terms of incumbent Deborah Fuentes, Republican, and incumbent Mayor Raymond Coles, Democrat, both expire in 2026, per the Ocean County Clerk's elected officials roster). Fuentes and Moshe B. Raitzik advanced from a contested June 2, 2026 Republican primary, defeating activist Aaron Hirsch (Raitzik led with 2,067 votes to Fuentes's 1,627 and Hirsch's 962), per the New Jersey Globe. Republicans currently hold a 3-2 majority on the five-member committee. Lakewood is Ocean County's largest municipality and is included here per the build brief's well-known-city rule.
Deborah Fuentes · RepublicanIncumbent▾
Deborah Fuentes is the incumbent Lakewood Township Committeewoman, per the county clerk's elected officials roster. She and running mate Moshe B. Raitzik were endorsed by the Lakewood Vaad, a coalition of Orthodox Jewish community leaders, in the June 2026 Republican primary, per the New Jersey Globe. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the official roster and election filing is the only verifiable source for Deborah Fuentes.
Moshe B. Raitzik is a Lakewood fire commissioner and former school board member, per the New Jersey Globe. His campaign has focused on traffic congestion, road closures, infrastructure strain and the pace of development in the township, per the New Jersey Globe. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Moshe B. Raitzik.
Priorities: Addressing traffic congestion and road closures · Managing infrastructure strain from development (per the New Jersey Globe)
Raymond Coles is the sitting Mayor of Lakewood Township and has served on its Township Committee since 2001, per a LegiStorm biography. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Raymond Coles.
Samantha L. Stokes appears on the November 3, 2026 ballot for Lakewood Township Committee, per the county elections office's certified candidate list. No campaign website or questionnaire response was found as of September 8, 2026; the official election filing is the only verifiable source for Samantha L. Stokes.
These race previews show candidates we’re tracking now. A ZIP code shows your statewide and congressional races; a street address adds county and city contests. Local races are address-specific. This guide previews tracked contests, while the lookup tool narrows the list to a voter’s exact address. Tap any name to see the race, full candidate profiles, and everything else on your exact ballot.
Ballot proposals on the November 3 ballot
One proposal from the county's official candidate and proposal list. Countywide questions appear on every ballot in Ocean County; local ones only inside the city or township named.
Ocean County Natural Lands Trust Fund (Open Space) Tax Increase
Countywide
Shall the Ocean County Natural Lands Trust Fund tax rate be increased from 1.2 cents to 2.2 cents per $100 of equalized assessed property value, to fund continued acquisition and preservation of open space, farmland and historic sites? Ocean County voters will decide whether to raise the county's dedicated open-space tax by one cent per $100 of assessed value, the first increase since voters created the fund in 1997, to keep pace with rising land costs for conservation purchases. Source: https://www.jerseyshoreonline.com/ocean-county/ocean-county-open-space-tax-increase-heads-to-november-ballot/.
Sample ballot by ZIP code in Ocean County
Each ZIP page previews the statewide and congressional races for that ZIP; add a street address in the lookup for county and city contests.
Note: Use address lookup for your exact ballot; local pages preview tracked races.Profiles: Hand-verified profiles are added race by race; always confirm with the official election office linked above.
