Bartlett trails by 11 votes after more votes counted in Passaic County

Democrat Zoila Cassanova has taken a 710-vote lead in the race for Passaic County Surrogate, and another Democrat, John Bartlett, is now trailing by just 11 votes in his bid for re-election to as county commissioner.

Cassanova had trailed Republican Aisha Mamkej by 224 votes before remaining vote-by-mail ballots were counted on Wednesday.

Passaic still has about 3,800 provisional ballots that remain uncounted, and some of them are still being verified.

County Commissioner Sandi Lazzara, a Democrat, leads the balloting with 50,367 votes.  Republicans Nick Gallo, a Totowa landscaper, is in second place with 49,953.

Wayne Councilwoman Lucy Rivera has a narrow lead over Bartlett for the third seat, 49,392 to 49,381.

Veteran Ringwood Councilman William Marsala is running fifth with 49,300 votes, just 81 votes behind Bartlett and 92 behind his running mate, Rivera.

A Democratic incumbent, Assad Akhter, is running sixth with 48,321 – 1,071 votes out of third place.

Before today’s count, Gallo and Rivera led with Lazzara up by 74 and Bartlett 830 votes out of third place.

Republicans haven’t won a county commissioner race in Passaic since 2009 and last won a Surrogate contest in 1992.

Cassanova and Mamkej are seeking to replace Surrogate Bernice Toledo, who did not seek re-election.  She was criminally charged in August with “allegedly falsifying a judgment she filed in order to make an improper appointment of an estate administrator.   The Supreme Court has suspended her with pay.