Good morning, New Jersey.
It’s Election Day in 15 municipalities across the state that hold non-partisan municipal elections. The polls are open from 6 AM to 8 PM.
One of the best races in the state is in Paterson, where two incumbents under indictment for voter fraud in the 2020 election are seeking re-election: Alex Mendez in the 3rd Ward and Michael Jackson in the 1st Ward.
The two were charged shortly after the election with casting a massive number of illegal vote-by-mail ballots and are still awaiting trial; Mendez faced additional charges in 2023.
Because of election irregularities, a judge blocked Mendez from being sworn in and ordered a do-over of the 2020 election, which Mendez won; he ran for mayor in 2022 and is now the council president.
Mendez faces former Councilman Bill McKoy, whom he ousted four years ago, and former Passaic County Commissioner Assad Akhter, now a top aide to Gov. Phil Murphy. Five candidates are taking on Jackson: Rodney Addison, Ramona Blizzard, Mohammed Mohan Hossain, Fania Santana, and Mosleh Uddin.
Three-term Councilwoman Ruby Cotton, who briefly served as interim mayor following Joey Torres’ conviction, faces a challenge for her fourth ward seats. So do incumbents Shanin Khalique in the 2nd Ward and Al Abdelaziz in the 6th Ward.
* MONTCLAIR: Mayor Sean Spiller is not seeking re-election to a second term, former Councilwoman Renee Baskerville faces attorney Chrissy Thomas. This is Baskerville’s second try; she won 49% against Spiller in 2020, coming within 195 votes of winning. Thomas ran for 2nd Ward Councilor four years ago and won 42% of the vote.
All six council seats are up today and Bob Russo, a former mayor who has been running for office for parts of six decades, is the only councilor seeking re-election. The winner of the second seat, Peter Yacobellis, initially launched a mayoral bid last year and then abruptly resigned and moved out of state and Roger Terry, appointed to replace him, is not a candidate. Susan Shin Anderson is allied with Baskerville and Carmel Loughman, who lost four years ago by a wide margin, is running with Russo.
In Ward 1, incumbent William Hurlock is not seeking re-election; Shivaun Gaines, a member of the Baskerville slate, faces Erik D’Amato. Ilmar Vanderer and Eileen Birmingham are seeking the Ward 2 seat to replace Robin Schlager, who is not running again. Voters have three choices to replace retiring Ward 3 Councilor Lori Price Abrams: Roddy Moore, Wendy Tiburcio, and Rahum Wiliams, who is on the Baskerville ticket. In a blast from the past, embattled former Essex County Prosecutor Patricia Hurt, who was removed from office in 1999, faces Zina Floyd and Aminah Toler for the Ward 4 seat. Incumbent David Cummings is not seeking re-election.
Montclair has an extraordinary local news site, Montclair Local. Click HERE for detailed coverage of the 2024 election.
* NUTLEY: Five incumbent members of the Nutley Township Board of Commissioners are seeking re-election, and the top vote-getter is traditionally elected mayor. Four years ago, Mauro Tucci and Joseph Scarpelli each received 4,586 votes and split the mayoral post with each taking a two-year term. They’re both seeking re-election, along with Thomas Evans, John V. Kelly III, and Al Petracco. They face Maria Hamlin and Lorenzo Marchese, Jr. Hamlin finished sixth in 2020, 52 votes behind Kelly.
Tucci was first elected in 2000, Evans in 2003, Scarpelli and Petracco in 2008, and Kelly in 2020. Petracco was mayor from 2012 to 2016, Scarpelli from 2016 to 2020, Tucci from 2020 to 2022, and Scarpelli for the last two years.
* ORANGE: Dwayne Warren is seeking re-election to a fourth term. He faces Councilwoman Quantavia Hilbert and former Councilwoman April Gaunt-Butler. Three incumbent At-large members of the city council – Weldon Montague, Clifford Ross, and Adrienne Wooten, are unopposed.
* IRVINGTON: Popular Mayor Tony Vauss is backing Councilman Orlander Glen Vick against challenger Yasmin Jones in the North Ward, Councilwoman Jamillah Z. Beasley against Danouchka Desir in the South Ward, and Councilwoman October Hudley against Yasmina King in the East Ward. West Ward Councilman Vern Cox, a Vauss ally, is unopposed.
* BELLEVILLE: Four ward council seats are up this year, including the 1st ward seat represented for twenty years by Marie Strumolo Burke until her death on March 8 at age 82. Tracy Juanita Williams and Patricia Inaugurato are facing off for her seat.
In the 2nd Ward, where Steven Rovell is not running again, voters must choose between Gary Hinton, Victore Mesce, and Frank Velez III. Velez won 32% against Rovell in 2020. 3rd Ward Councilman Vincent Cozzarelli is unopposed, and in the 4th ward, Michael Sheldon and Diana Sorice Guardadbasco are seeking the seat of retiring Councilman John Notari.
* RIDGEFIELD PARK: All five seats on the Township Commission are up and Election Day comes four days after the death of 82-year-old George Fosdick, who served on the Board of Commissioners for 36 years – 28 as mayor – before stepping down four years ago. Mayor John Anlian is running on the “Continued Responsive Government” slate with four incumbents: William Gerken, Adma MacNeill, Mark Olson, and Wanda Portoreeal. They race an aggressive grassroots campaign from Askar Mirza, a 19-year-old college student who has worked for a Republican state senator and a Democratic assemblywoman. Theodore Tabasco, who lost races in 2016 and 2020, is running again.
* OCEAN CITY: Former Councilman Michale DeVlieger and Sean Barnes are seeking the two-year unexpired term of At-Large Councilwoman Karen Bergman, who resigned in January to take a city job as head of the senior center. DeVlieger had quit his council seat in 2021, then ran in 2022 and finished last in a field of six candidates.
Four ward city council seats are also up today: Terry Crowley, Jr. is unopposed in the 1st Ward; in the 2nd Ward, where Tom Rotondi is not seeking re-election, former Councilman Keith Hartzell faces Paul Stryker; incumbent Jody Levchuk wants another term and is up against Amie Vaules; and David Winslow, appointed after Bobby Barr became a Cape May County Commissioner, faces Cecilia Gallelli-Keyes.
Hartzell is seeking a comeback after giving up his seat two years ago to challenge Mayor Jay Gillian; he lost by ten percentage points.
Ocean City has a strong local news site, OCNJ Daily.
* ALLENHURST: Six candidates, including Mayor David McLaughlin and Commissioner Richard Cumisky, are competing for three seats on the three-member Borough Commission; another incumbent, Christopher McLoughlin, is not running again. Mark Horowitz, Freida Adjmi, Joseph Dweck, and Theresa Manziano-Santoro are seeking commissioner seats.
* DEAL: Two slates are competing for three seats on the borough’s Board of Commissioners. Mayor Samuel Cohen, Commissioner David Simhon, and newcomer Jack Kassin are running on the Visionary Trusted Leadership – Low Taxes ticket against three candidates on the Building a Safer, Cleaner, Brighter Deal ticket: Isaac Chehebar, Samuel Ashkinazie, and Albert Dweck.
* KEANSBURG: Six candidates are facing off for three Borough Council seats: incumbents Goerge Hoff (the sitting mayor), Thomas Foley, and Sean Tonnie are being challenged by Antoinetta Carbone, Braden Salas, and Christina Onciu.
* LOCH ARBOUR: Jack Hedaya, Paul Fernicola and Jason Elo are unopposed for three Village Commission seats.
* VENTNOR: City Commissioners Maria Mento, Tim Kriebel, and Lance Landgraf face no opposition for re-election.
* MEDFORD LAKES: Deputy Mayor William Fields is seeking a third term on the Borough Council on a slate with Matthew Bailey and Gerald Yowell after two incumbents, Mayor Gary Miller and Councilwoman Gail Caputo, decided not to run again. Their opponent is Joseph Aromondo III, who according to the Pine Barrens Tribune, a top-flight local news site, is running for the 15th time.
* BASS RIVER: Mayor Deborah Buzby-Cope, Deputy Mayor Louis Bourguignoin, and Commissioner Nicholas Capriglione face a challenge from Rick Adams, a local businessman. The Pine Barrens Tribune said Dan Sikora is mounting a write-in campaign.
Anyone who believes their vote has been interfered with, or seeks to report voting-related issues, can call the New Jersey Voter Information and Assistance line toll-free at 1-877-NJVOTER.
Vote-by-mail ballots may be dropped in secure drop boxes or returned by the U.S. Postal Service at the peril of a voter; ballots must be postmarked by 8 PM on May 14 and delivered to the county Board of Elections no later than close of business on Monday, May 20.
Click HERE to find your polling location.
Click HERE for a list of secure ballot drop box locations across the state.
If you cast a mail-in vote, track your ballot HERE to make sure it has arrived at your county election office.
Superior Court judges will hear same-day challenges for issues involving early voting and on Election Day.
Voters turned away from the polls but believe they are correctly registered should arrange to appear before a judge virtually or by telephone. Click HERE for more information.
Voters can also call the Voter Protection Hotline at 866-OUR-VOTE (866-687-8683) for help from the American Civil Liberties Union and the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice hotline or the New Jersey Republican State Committee Election Integrity hotline at 609-288-2925.
Attorney General Matt Platkin has a Voting Rights Resources page to answer questions about your rights under state law. Click HERE.
Voters who feel they have faced discrimination or harassment in pursuit of their right to vote can also file a report with the Division on Civil Rights through the NJ BIAS online portal — https://bias.njcivilrights.gov — or may call 1-800-277-BIAS (1-800-277-2427). Urgent complaints concerning allegations of discrimination or harassment filed with the Division on Civil Rights may be addressed during the election or after the election.
Possible violations of federal voting rights laws can be reported to the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division at civilrights.justice.gov/ or by telephone toll-free at 800-253-3931.
Click HERE to check your voter registration status.