Asbury woman to be Dem Freeholder candidate
Army vet Fulton was a member of first West Point class to admit females
An Asbury Park woman is expected to be nominated by the Monmouth County Democrats to run for the county Board of Chosen Freeholders.
Brenda “Sue” Fulton, a West Point graduate who was part of the academy’s first class to admit women, will join Belmar Mayor Matt Doherty on the Democratic ticket, according to a statement from Monmouth County Democratic Chairman Vin Gopal.
Fulton and Doherty will face Republican incumbents Tom Arnone and Serena DiMaso. Arnone is a former mayor of Neptune City and DiMaso served on the Holmdel Township Committee.
The all-Republican five member Board of Freeholders runs the county government.
Fulton was commissioned in the Army as a signal officer, serving as both a platoon leader and company commander in Germany before receiving an honorable discharge at the rank of Captain, said Gopal. In 2011, President Obama appointed Fulton to the West Point Board of Visitors. In 2015, Fulton was elected chairperson of the Board of Visitors at West Point, making her the first woman graduate to hold that position.
Fulton and her wife Penelople Gnesin were the first same-gender couple to be married in West Point Chapel in New York, according to a prior report in the asburyparksun.com. Fulton was also active in the campaign to repeal the military’s “Don’t Ask. Don’t Tell policy,” according to the Sun report.
Farmingdale Councilwomen Carly Immen had been expect to run for the Democrats, but she withdrew for personal reasons, Gopal said.