NJ Voters Guide: 18th Legislative District
New Jersey’s 18th Legislative District covers seven municipalities in Middlesex County: East Brunswick, Edison, Highland Park, Metuchen, Milltown, South Plainfield and South River.
The district has been represented by Democrats for the past two decades and its voter registration leans blue: about 44% Democrats, 19% Republicans and most of the rest unaffiliated.
Both Democratic Assembly incumbents are seeking reelection. They are Robert Karabinchak, president of a construction company, and Sterley Stanley, an insurance broker.
The Republican candidates are Eugene DeMarzo, a podiatrist from East Brunswick, and Melanie McCann Mott of South Plainfield.
Editor’s note: All candidates were contacted multiple times for the NJ Decides 2025 voting guide Q&As. Click on a candidate to see any answers provided.
The candidates
Age: 69 Hometown: Edison, NJ Occupation: General Contractor Personal or professional background: I am the owner of Triform Construction, a small general contracting business based in Metuchen, NJ, which I have operated since 1984. With over four decades of experience managing projects and working closely with clients, I have developed strong problem-solving, budgeting, and leadership skills. As a longtime local business owner, I understand the challenges our community faces and am committed to bringing that practical, hands-on perspective to public service. What is your top issue this year? My top issue this election is the escalating energy and utility costs in New Jersey, which have surged by 17–20% since June, placing the state among the highest in the nation. This affordability crisis is forcing families to choose between basic needs, creating widespread frustration. Addressing this means increasing energy supply, investing in clean energy solutions like solar and battery storage, and reforming the regional grid system (PJM) to lower costs while ensuring reliability. What are your specific proposals for making New Jersey more affordable? To make New Jersey more affordable, I support expanding our energy mix to include innovative sources like small modular nuclear reactors, hydrogen, and wave and tidal energy. Diversifying energy supply will help lower costs and improve reliability. I also support legislation to streamline permitting, speeding up housing construction and increasing supply. More energy options and more housing are key to reducing costs for families and businesses across our state. Do you support the state law designed to increase the amount of affordable housing and if not, how would you make housing less costly for residents? I support efforts to make housing more affordable, but I believe the current state law needs adjustments based on feedback from constituents and local towns. We need sensible solutions that respect community input while increasing housing supply. I back measures to streamline permitting and encourage development where infrastructure can support it, ensuring affordability goals are met without overburdening municipalities. How would you manage federal funding cuts to social services, health care, education, and other areas, particularly in light of the state’s budget challenges? Federal cuts to programs like Medicaid, food assistance, and education hurt our most vulnerable residents and that will now shift these costs to states. I believe New Jersey must prioritize protecting these essential services. We should use our budget responsibly to compensate for the wasteful spending in the OBBB, and look for innovative revenue sources and partnerships to fill gaps. Investing in people’s health, education, and economic security is not optional; it’s fundamental to our state’s future. 
Age: 69 Hometown: East Brunswick Occupation: Podiatrist Personal or professional background:My educational background includes graduating from Seton Hall Preparatory School, Fordham University and the New York College of Podiatric Medicine. I have been married to my wife Darlene for 45 years and we have five children, Tara, Nicole, Benjamin, Michelle AND EJ. I have been in private practice of podiatry in Woodbridge New Jersey since 1988. What is your top issue this year? The top issue of this election as with any election is the economy. However the top issue in this election can be different reasons to many people . For example if you lost a loved one to drugs that would certainly be your main issue. For example who took away our plastic bags from the supermarkets. This is a trivial matter but the real issue is how this law was made that seems to go against what most people would want. So if the elected officials are missing the boat on trivial matters that clearly go against the will of the people what’s happening with more important issues. What are your specific proposals for making New Jersey more affordable? My specific proposal for making New Jersey more affordable would be to re-develop those cities such as Newark and Camden which used to be thriving areas. Newark was known as the Gateway City because of its transportation hub and proximity to New York City. Nothing about its location has changed. The things that have changed must be fixed so that Newark can prosper again. Do you support the state law designed to increase the amount of affordable housing and if not, how would you make housing less costly for residents?It seems that the Mount Laurel ruling has not been effective which is why recent new laws were made which will probably have the same negligible effect in supplying affordable housing. Instead of requiring affordable housing in all cities it seems that the depressed cities in our state could use redevelopment. High income housing should be demanded to be built in low income towns such as Newark which used to be a thriving community. Developing low income areas would be a boom for jobs in those areas. It would also raise the standards throughout the whole city with the influx of wealth. If cities such as Newark were re-developed and safe many people would be drawn to live there. How would you manage potential federal funding cuts to social services, health care, education, and other areas, particularly in light of the state’s budget challenges? The challenge of providing services to the citizens of New Jersey require an efficient centralized delivery system. For example healthcare should be available through a county hospital health system where services are provided free of charge to those in need. Our education system needs an overhaul. For example Abbott school districts have been in effect for over 40 years and the same 29 districts continue to drain the rest of the districts financially yes they are failing our children. This seems to scream out that money is not the answer since those schools receive as much or more than any other school district. I am limited to about 100 words which is not nearly enough to explain this complicated question.
The candidate did not respond to the questionnaire.
The candidate did not respond to the questionnaire.
