Mendham Mayor James R. Kelly saw his lead increase from two votes to three over former Mayor Neil Henry after a recount of ballots cast in the June 2 Republican primary.
His lead on election night was 16 votes, but that tally dropped to two after provisional and late-arriving vote-by-mail ballots were counted Henry filed for the recount.
It will now be up to Henry to decide whether he wants to challenge the election outcome in court, including questions about the eligibility of specific voters.
Henry sought a return to public office after an eight-year absence, tagging Kelly as a supporter of overdevelopment
Kelly became mayor last year after Christine Serrano Glassner resigned to accept a position in President Donald Trump’s administration. Henry previously served as mayor from 2007 to 2018, and was a councilman for six years before that.
Through a write-in vote, Democrats nominated Michael Craver, a school board member for the last sixteen years, to run for mayor.
In the race for Mendham Borough Council, Republicans Marilyn Althoff and Joseph M. Murphy will face Democrats Mark Van Den Hende and Daniel Shreibman in the general election. Van Den Hende and Schreibman waged successful write-in campaigns.