Dombrowski drops re-election bid, resigns from Elmwood Park Council

Passed over for the Democratic nomination for mayor, Elmwood Park Council Joseph Dombrowski has resigned his council seat and dropped out of the race for re-election.

Democrats picked Council President Lorraine Pellegrine to run for the mayor after Francesco Caramagna withdrew from the race.

Caramagna resigned as mayor in April after being charged with election tampering.  He remained unopposed for re-election in the June Democratic primary and did not formally drop out of the race until this week.

Democrats had expected Dombrowski to become the mayoral candidate, but Caramagna, who remains Democratic municipal chairman, picked Pellegrine instead.

Dombrowski’s resignation from the council is effective September 30.

Now the local Democratic party will need to hold another meeting to replace Dombrowski on the ballot.

The deadline to replace candidates is September 12.

Democrats will also have a chance to fill Dombrowski’s unexpired term on the council.

Councilman Francesco Fasolo, appointed to fill a vacant council seat earlier this year, is running for Board of Education.  He is unopposed and the deadline to drop out has passed.

The (Bergen) Record first reported the decision of Democrats to choose Pellegrine as the candidate for mayor.