Citing unforeseen circumstances, Dr. LeRoi Jones withdrew from the Red Bank Council Primary Election race on Friday. In a letter addressed to Party Chair, Ed Zipprich, Dr. Jones expressed regret for his decision to leave the race and threw his support behind Jacqueline M. Sturdivant, who will join Bruce Maida in challenging the incumbents.

Sturdivant is a 20-year Red Bank resident who won a supermajority of the Red Bank Democratic Municipal Committee securing 15 of the 18 committee members’ support.

She is an accomplished business leader who brings to the ticket a wide range of experiences as a Global Corporate Strategy and Leadership Development Executive. Her strengths in team development and process optimization, strategic planning and implementation along with her management skills will be a compliment to Bruce Maida, a retired Project Manager and Principal Engineer for National Grid, one of the largest energy companies in the Northeast.

Ms. Sturdivant holds an undergraduate degree in Mathematics and History from Boston College, a Master of Science in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia and an M.B.A. from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. She serves as the Vice President of the Board for the Courtyard of Red Bank Association and is a supporter of the T. Thomas Fortune Cultural Center, Red Bank. Jacqueline serves as a judge for the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education Business Plan Competition. She is also a BMW and Formula 1 racing enthusiast and holds a certification in scuba.

Together, Maida and Sturdivant pledge to curb rampant overdevelopment, raise the morale of Red Bank municipal employees, ensure fair housing standards, implement green acres initiatives and encourage open, honest communication between our businesses and residents.

“My goals are to protect Red Banks’ quality of life, open spaces, existing assets and our “hippest town in NJ” reputation,” Sturdivant said.

“I could not be more thrilled to have such an outstanding running mate,” Maida said. “Jacqueline and I are fellow engineers who will work with the Mayor and other members of Council to effectively utilize governmental resources, ensure transparency in government, respect all Borough employees and volunteers, and maintain rock-solid support for our public schools, our Public Library, our existing Senior Center, riverfront parks and ALL our neighborhoods.”

The candidates will run in the June 8^th Primary Election as Monmouth County Democrats.