Devine loses write-in bid in West Amwell

Embattled political gremlin James Devine came up two votes short of capturing the Democratic nomination for West Amwell Township Committee as a write-in candidate.

Devine needed seven write-in votes to win but received only five.  He received three VBM votes and two machine votes.

Republicans Robert Balaam, Jr. won the Republican nomination by three votes against Diane Yoder, 126 to 123, with incumbent John Dale finishing third with 45 votes.  Balaam is unopposed in the general election.

The controversial life partner of shadowy perennial candidate Lisa McCormick is facing criminal charges for submitting forged nominating petitions in the 2021 Democratic gubernatorial primary.

The state attorney general’s office has charged Devine with filing 1,948 fraudulent signatures to get McCormick on the Democratic primary ballot against Gov. Phil Murphy.

McCormick was tossed off the ballot after a judge determined the petitions to be “fraudulently created without any input from actual voters,” and the matter was referred to the attorney general’s office by Secretary of State Tahesha Way.

Devine has a long history in New Jersey Democratic politics dating back to the 1980s, and has often drawn controversy for his wily and sometimes law-skirting campaign tactics. He also served a stint as the political director of the state Democratic Party in the 1990s, when then-ally Ray Lesniak was party chairman.

Republicans are defending a 4-1 majority on the township committee.