Pino asks Clifton voters to vote for her twice in November

Clifton Councilwoman Rosie Pino is asking voters to cast their ballots for her twice in November: once for Congress and again for the Clifton City Council.

Pino, the Republican nominee challenging freshman Rep. Nellie Pou (D-North Haledon) in New Jersey’s 9th congressional district, is running internet advertisements reminding Clifton residents that her name will appear twice on their ballots.

“Hey, friends, it’s Rosie Pino, your councilwoman. This year you will see my name on the ballot twice. Once for Clifton City Council, where I am number 19. And for Congress, I’m asking you to vote for me in both races because you can.”

The unusual appeal puts Pino in the position of campaigning for two offices simultaneously, one partisan and the other nonpartisan, with the possibility that voters could elect her to both.

New Jersey law lets candidates seek more than one public office in the same election, but they cannot simultaneously hold incompatible offices.

That means Pino could legally win both races, but would have to choose which position to accept.

“Both votes give me an opportunity to continue to serve you and build on what we have already worked together on,” she said.

The stakes are considerably different in the two contests. Pino seeks to unseat Pou, a first-term Democrat in a congressional district that favors Democrats, while also asking Clifton voters to return her to a four-year term on the municipal governing body.