Judge punts Assembly recount to late July

The Democratic primary for State Assembly in the 39th district won’t be decided entirely until the end of July at the earliest, after a judge set an elongated briefing schedule for a recount application.

Superior Court Judge Kelly A. Conlon today set oral arguments for July 23 in an application by David Jiang to recount his race, where he lost to Donna Abene by 137 votes, less than one-half of one percent out of over 17,000 votes cast.

It’s unusual for a judge to set a briefing schedule on a recount request.  In 2023, another Bergen County judge, Peter Geiger, ordered a recount in an Oakland mayoral race within four days of the petition, without requiring briefs.  The recount was over in a few days.

This creates uncertainty in heading into the general election campaign, where Democrats face an uphill, but not impossible, battle against two Republican assemblymen in the 39th.   Democrats have not won the Bergen County-based district since 1977, but it went for Joe Biden in 2020 by six points – and for Donald Trump in 2024 by two points.

The outcome of the primary already produced a split result.  Former Dumont Mayor Andrew LaBruno ran as an anti-organization insurgent on a slate headed by gubernatorial candidate Steve Fulop, the mayor of Jersey City, where LaBruno is a police officer and former union leader.  Abene, a former Woodcliff Lake council president, was backed by the Bergen County Democratic organization, and Jiang, a Demarest councilman, ran with LaBruno.

If a recount were to reverse the primary outcome – possible, but unlikely – Conlon’s extended schedule could deprive Jiang of critical fundraising and campaign time that could alter the general election results.  It also leaves Abene in limbo.

Conlon is also racing against an aggressive election calendar. A late July recount could be followed by an election challenge and an appeal in August; the statutory deadline to prepare the ballots for printing is September 1, and vote-by-mail ballots are set to go out on September 20.

A fourth candidate, former Dumont Councilman Damon Englese, finished a distant fourth.

Scott Salmon is representing Jiang.

In Ship Bottom, Republican Councilman Tom Tallon is seeking a recount after losing the Republican primary by ten votes to William Fenimore, 127-117, a difference of 2.6%.  Superior Court Judge Robert E. Brenner will hear a hearing on the petition on July 1 and is not requiring briefs to be filed.  Another incumbent, Robert Butkus, received 142 votes.