EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU VOTE ON TUESDAY

Tuesday's primary election is shaping up to be one of the most impactful in years.

For those not in the know, two seats are up on the five-person Township Committee. Those held by incumbents Jerry Ryan and Kathy Leventhal.

Leventhal is NOT running for re-election, but Ryan is.

Also on the ballot are challengers Nancy Adams and Greg Lembrich.

Voters can choose two of the three to serve on the governing body and face the Republican challengers in the November election.

But given Maplewood's strong Democratic population, the winner of the Democratic primary is usually the winner in November.

As readers of Maplewoodian.com know, the race has also been a battle between Mayor Vic Deluca, who is supporting Ryan and Adams, and former Mayor Fred Profeta, who is supporting Lembrich.

As this is a primary, only registered Democrats can vote in the Democratic primary and Republicans can only vote in the Republican primary. But if you are not affiliated with any party, you can declare yourself a Democrat or Republican at the polls and vote with a provisional ballot.

The election also has the potential to shape who is mayor in the coming year. As the TC chooses the mayor annually from its ranks, having two new faces could tip the scales away from Mayor Deluca, who has held the post for the past seven years.

We have posted both podcast interviews with each of the three candidates and questionnaires that they filled out.

Hear the podcasts HERE.

And read their answers to our questions HERE.

If you do not vote, you cannot complain about the TC in the future.