Kelly Yaede, facing charges, fails in bid to oust GOP county chair

The political career of Hamilton Mayor Kelly Yaede continues to spiral out of her control as she wraps up a truly horrible week in her bid for re-election to a third term.

Yaede, who is facing charges for illegally releasing the expunged criminal records of her GOP primary opponent, now finds herself on the losing side of a bid to remove the Mercer County Republican Chair.

County committee members voted overwhelmingly against Yaede’s attempt to remove Lisa Richford from her post during a meeting tonight, five months after Richford refused to give the incumbent mayor the organization line in her bid for re-election.

Yaede beat David Henderson in the primary, but now faces a tough re-election campaign against Democrat Jeff Martin, the council president.

“The various snakes dispatched by Kelly the fraud failed to do her bidding,” Henderson said in a Facebook post.  He identified former State Sen. Peter Inverso, former Mercer County Executive Bob Prunetti, Hamilton GOP Municipal Chairman Dennis Pone and Hamilton Business Administrator Dave Kenny as the reptilian offenders.

The unsuccessful coup – Yaede supporters appeared to have been unable to accurately count votes – worsens the mayor’s political standing in her campaign against Martin.

She became mayor in 2012 following the criminal conviction of Republican John Bencivengo.  Yaede won an unexpired term in 2013 and a full four-year term in 2015.

Mercer County Republicans haven’t won a countywide race since County Clerk Cathy DiCostanzo was re-elected in 2000.