3 running for 2 Town Council seats

Three people filed to run for two seats on the Newton Town Council in the Nov. 5 election.

The filing deadline was 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 22.

Mayor John-Paul Couce and Councilwoman Michelle Teets are seeking re-election to their second terms. The terms are for four years.

Also running is Dr. Ludmilla Mecaj, who sought a council seat in 2018, 2020 and 2022.

Couce was named mayor in January after serving as deputy mayor while Teets was mayor in 2023.

He is captain of the Newton First Aid Squad.

Before Teets joined the council, she was a part-time 9-1-1 operator for the Newton Police Department. She is a program analysis supervisor at Picatinny Arsenal, where she has worked for 35 years.

Mecaj, who has a medical degree, has taught biology classes at Kean University, Sussex County Community College and County College of Morris.

She moved to Newton in 1995 and owns several properties in town. She was vice chairwoman of the town’s Recreation Committee for four years.