Haddonfield elects Kasko, Rochford, Moscatelli

Haddonfield Deputy Mayor Jeff Kasko was reelected a borough commissioner, former Commissioner Neal Rochford regained the post he lost four years ago, and political newcomer John Moscatelli swept into his first term, according to unofficial returns from Tuesday's municipal election.

Kasko, the top vote-getter with provisional ballots not yet counted, could become the borough's first new mayor in 12 years. Mayor Letitia "Tish" Colombi chose not to seek reelection. The commissioners will decide who will be mayor, but the honor traditionally goes to the highest vote-getter.

On the losing side were incumbent Ed Borden, a former Camden County prosecutor, and challengers Lee Anne Albright and Ken Kouba.

In nearby Collingswood, Commissioners Joan Leonard, Mike Hall, and James Maley, the mayor, were reelected, according to unofficial returns.

The incumbents fended off challenges from Hugh McGuire, a financial planner; Ian Wachstein, a retired public defender and former school board member; and James Woods, who delivers for a Federal Express subcontractor.

In both municipalities, six candidates were vying for their town's three commissioner seats. Both races included people already established in town governance and political newcomers calling for change.

In Haddonfield, Kasko was successful in his quest for a second term and Rochford, a printing-industry consultant who founded pro-sustainability groups, regained the seat he lost by eight votes in 2009.

Moscatelli, a chemical engineer and stay-at-home dad, was the only one of three newcomers on the ballot to win election. Losing were Kouba, a partner in Jersey Java & Tea, and Albright, president of the Historical Society of Haddonfield and long active in community service.

The election came a few months after residents voted to reject a proposal that the school district spend nearly $13 million to buy the Bancroft school property. Instrumental in that defeat was Haddonfield United, a relatively new grassroots organization that has criticized borough leadership, including the recent handling of a sewage spill and the decision to install artificial turf on the high school's playing and practice fields, which founder Brian Kelly has called a luxury.

Kelly endorsed Moscatelli and Kouba, who opposed the Bancroft purchase, and Kasko, who supported but did not campaign for the purchase and who raised questions about the artificial turf.

Kelly and others say they believe Bancroft could reemerge as an issue.