Longtime Passaic county commissioner retiring; another not getting party support

Passaic County Democrats are preparing to support two new candidates for county commissioner when party leaders meet on Saturday to replace a seven-term incumbent not seeking re-election and another unlikely to receive party support.

Pat Lepore is leaving after 21 years in county government and four terms as mayor of Woodland Park.  Terry Duffy, elected with Lepore in 2004, has fallen out of favor with local Democrats and has not decided whether to run again in a lineless, office block ballot primary.

Leading the list of prospective Democratic candidates for the two seats are: Mike Ramaglia, a former Republican councilman from West Milford who switched parties after losing a 2015 mayoral primary; Christina Schratz, a school board member in the city of Passaic; and Paterson City Councilwoman Lilissa Mimms.

Ramaglia is the top choice of the county chairman, John Currie.  Schratz’s candidacy comes three months after Donald Trump carried the city of Passaic by 4.5% — a seismic shift from Joe Biden’s 26-point win in 2020 as Hispanic and Orthodox Jewish voters went Republican in the presidential election.

Republicans will run former County Commissioner Nicolino Gallo, who lost re-election by 3,354 votes last year.  The GOP has not settled on a second candidate.