A vindicated Saddle Brook Police Chief, Robert Kugler, won a big victory at the Bergen County Republican convention tonight, making him the clear favorite to get a rematch with Sheriff Anthony Cureton in November.
Kugler defeated Michael Devine, a former Bergen County police officer, 364-284.
He had won 56% of the vote in a meeting of the Bergen County Republican Policy Committee earlier this month, getting the endorsement by a 36-17 vote over Devine, A third candidate, former Lyndhurst school board member Christopher Musto, finished third with 11 votes and has since withdrawn from the race.
Kugler’s 2021 campaign was derailed by an indictment alleging that he detailed police escorts for funeral processions to cemeteries involving a local funeral home he owns. The indictment didn’t stop Kugler from mounting a strong challenge against Cureton. He lost by a 54%-46% margin.
Superior Court Judge Marilyn Clark dismissed the charges against Kugler one year later after finding that embattled Deputy Attorney General Eric Cohen, who prosecuted Kugler for the Office of Public Integrity and Accountability (OPIA), left out critical information that might have benefited the suspended police chief to the grand jury that indicted him. Cohen is no longer employed by the attorney general’s office.
Then-Attorney General Gurbir Grewal announced charges against Kugler in March 2021 after he had already joined the race for sheriff. The indictment came on September 24, just as vote-by-mail ballots had gone out.
Despite the allegations against him, Bergen County Republicans stuck with Kugler, who spent four decades as a police officer and 30 years as chief.
He defeated Harry Shortway, Jr., the 82-year-old Midland Park mayor, at the party convention by a vote of 269-98, 73%-27%. In the primary, he defeated Shortway by an 82%-18% margin.
In a campaign mailer, Devine used portions of clips from a New Jersey Globe story that mischaracterized what was written to portray Kugler in a negative light. Kugler’s indictment may have been politically motivated—Grewal had strong ties to the Democratic party—and a judge dismissed the charges.
In the race for Bergen County Commissioner, Republicans are going with two young candidates: Michael Joseph, 21, and David Plotkin, 19. They are unopposed after two other candidates dropped out and will face four-term incumbents Tracy Silna Zur and Steve Tanelli.