UPDATED STORY: Brian Welch to Run Instead of John McHugh Jr. for Point Borough Council

Point Borough resident Brian Welch will run as one of two Democrats for Point Borough Council instead of John "Jack" McHugh Jr., said Councilman Chris Leitner, who would have been McHugh's running mate.

McHugh filed paperwork with Ocean County election officials on Tuesday to withdraw from the November race, which was the deadline to pull out of the election, Leitner said on Wednesday afternoon.

McHugh cited a need to spend more time on his business, as the primary reason for withdrawing.

Originally,

However, since McHugh withdrew from the race, Democrats asked Welch, who lives on Passaic Avenue with his wife and two young children, to run in his place.

Welch, 36, is married to Danielle Welch. They have two children, ages 1 and 3. The three-year-old attends the borough Recreation program.

Welch, a lifelong New Jersey resident, grew up in Middletown, graduated from Red Bank Catholic and has lived in the borough since 2004.

He is employed as a pipe fitter and is a master plumber.

On Wednesday evening, McHugh released the following prepared statement:

"Yesterday, I withdrew my name from the ballot for re-election to Point Pleasant Council. This was an extremely difficult decision for me, and one I did not make lightly, or hastily.

While my time on council has been both challenging and rewarding, in the end, I needed to weigh other considerations before committing to potentially three more years on council. As some of you know, my career is that of a real estate broker. It will come as a surprise to no one that the real estate business has been extremely challenging these past three years. My clients and staff have been more than gracious and understanding of the constraints on my time and attention. I just feel the time has come to reward their patience with my complete attention to their success.

While I am confident this is the right decision at this time, it is not without some regret. Foremost among these is that I will not be at Chris Leitner’s side throughout this campaign. Since the start of our campaign in 2008, and to this very day, my affection and admiration for this man continues to grow. I only hope that the citizens of Point Pleasant truly understand the gift they have in Chris. Politics aside, he is simply the most dedicated and conscientious public servant I have ever met. And I will work vigorously to assure his re-election.

Secondly, while I feel we’ve accomplished much in my term on council, much work remains. At our opening meeting in January, I said that I would consider this year a success “if we righted the ship, set a new course, our sails were full and we were on our way to better days.”

I feel that this council, under the strong leadership of Mayor Schroeder, can proudly say that we have lived up to that goal. But simply pointing in the right direction is not enough. It will still take much effort to keep from drifting off course. That is why I am so grateful that Brian Welch has agreed to step into my place on the ballot. His energy and ideas along with Chris Leitner’s intellect and experience are a necessity to avoid a return to the turbulent waters we so recently found ourselves in.

When Chris and I began our campaign in 2008, we used the phrase 'Believe in a Better Point Pleasant.' I can tell you that I always have and always will believe. I believe that the goodness of our people should be reflected in their government, I believe that there is reason why so many want to call Point Pleasant their home, I believe that we are more than the sum of our parts, and that is why it has been such an honor to serve this community I love so much.

And so it is to the citizens of this town that I reserve my most sincere thanks. I am painfully aware that I will never be able to repay all that this community has given me and my family.  It has been the honor and privilege of my life to have had the opportunity, in some small way, to make a down payment on that debt."

Regarding Welch, McHugh said, “Brian Welch is not a politician. He’s a hard worker who cares about Point Pleasant. I’ll be supporting Chris and Brian 150%.”

Leitner had said on Wednesday, "With the economy being what it is, and Jack being a Realtor, he just felt he couldn't devote another three years to council."

"He's been wrestling with this for a while and Tuesday was the last day to pull out of the election, so that's when he filed paperwork with the county," Leitner said.

When asked how he feels about McHugh not running with him, Leitner said, "Jack is one of my best friends. I'm sad I won't have him by my side. But I know he'll continue to give me advice and to give all of us help."

Mayor William Schroeder said, “It’s been great working with Jack. He and Chris Leitner started us on the path to fiscal stability. I will miss Jack’s energy and his common sense approach to problem-solving. I know that Brian Welch will bring that same kind of energy and add a new perspective on getting things done.”

Democratic Councilman Chris Goss said, "Jack has been a role model to me. He is so obviously dedicated to our community. He's never allowed others to do the work for him, he's never taken credit for the work of others, and he was never tempted to do the bare minimum. The hard work and good nature he's brought to council is something we should all aspire to.

"I've known Brian Welch since we were kids and I know he'll carry on Jack's legacy putting our community and our families first."