The Morris County Democratic Organization scored a decisive victory in Dover’s Democratic primary, as its Town Council candidates defeated contenders backed by Mayor James P. Dodd, delivering another significant political setback to a mayor whose faction was expelled from the county party earlier this year for supporting Republicans.
In the Second Ward, school board member Krista Seanor led the field with 212 votes, far ahead of Carlos Noriega, who received 41 votes. Incumbent Geobani Estacio did not run again.
In the Fourth Ward, Elizabeth Tapia topped the ballot with 122 votes, followed by incumbent Marcos Tapia (no relation), a staunch Dodd ally, with 38 votes and Austin Nieves with 19 votes.
Gov. Mikie Sherrill, U.S. Senator Andy Kim, and Rep. Analilia Mejia (D-Glen Ridge) endorsed the organization slate.
Five-term incumbent Sandra Witter in the First Ward ran unopposed; so did Alice Pastoris, a former Dover public defender, in the Third Ward, where Veronica Velez didn’t seek re-election.
The results mark a significant setback for Dodd, whose relationship with the county Democratic organization has deteriorated sharply in recent years. Dover remains a heavily Democratic municipality; despite Dodd’s endorsement of Ciattarelli, Democrat Mikie Sherrill carried the town by nearly 40 percentage points in last year’s gubernatorial race.
No Republicans filed for either council seat. Unless a Republican receives enough write-in votes to secure a nomination, today’s primary effectively determines the winners of the November election.
It remains unclear whether any Dodd-backed candidates filed to run as independents before today’s 4 p.m. filing deadline.
Dover’s Hispanic population was at 77% after the 2020 Census.
Earlier this month, Dodd filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court, alleging that the removal of himself and others from the county committee violated his First Amendment right of political speech and endorsement, that the party bylaws do not actually require county committee members to support winners of Democratic primaries, and that the removal process violated due process rights because the allegations were vague and lacked specific evidence.