Mendham Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner eked out a one-vote victory over Fred Schneiderman to win the non-binding recommendation of the Bergen County Republican Policy Committee tonight in a vote that is a precursor to the March 19 convention to award the organization line.
Serrano Glassner beat Schneiderman, a Cresskill businessman, 17-16, a 27%-26% margin. Former News 12 New Jersey reporter Alex Zdan finished third with 13 votes (21%), and Cape May hotelier Curtis Bashaw came in fourth with 12 votes (19%). Dumont businessman Brian Jackson and U.S. Navy veteran Albert Harshaw each received two votes, with former Tabernacle Deputy Mayor Justin Michael Murphy and Ocean City entrepreneur Steve Boston coming up empty.
Donald Trump defeated Nikki Haley, 55-8 (87%-13%), to secure the Bergen policy committee’s endorsement.
In the race to pick an opponent for Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-Wyckoff) in the 5th district, Mary Jo Guinchard won the policy committee votes, 28-21, against Paramus school board member George Song (44%-33%). Englewood GOP Municipal Chair Diedre Paul finished third with 13 votes (21%), with one vote going to newcomer Sandy Gajapathy.
Billy Prempeh won a solid 61%-39% victory over Hector Castillo to become the policy committee’s preferred candidate to take on Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-Paterson) in the 9th district. He won 37-24. Pascrell will face a primary challenge from Prospect Park Mayor Mohamad Khairullah. Prempeh, a U.S. Air Force veteran, challenged Pascrell in 2020 and 2022.
Saddle Brook Police Chief Robert Kugler appears headed toward a rematch with Bergen County Sheriff Anthony Cureton. Kugler won 56%, beating former Bergen County Police officer Michael Devine, 36-17. A third candidate, former Lyndhurst school board member Christopher Musto, finished third with 11 votes.
In the race for Bergen County Commissioner, Republicans went with two young candidates: Michael Joseph, 21, and David Plotkin, 19. They’ll face four-term incumbents Tracy Silna Zur and Steve Tanelli.
Joseph received 57 votes, and Plotkin got 56. Five votes went to Linda Barba, who dropped out earlier today; another candidate, Thomas Toscano, Jr,, withdrew on Sunday.
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.
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.
“Bergen is the largest county in the state, and I’m going to work hard to earn the support of GOP voters in Bergen County,” said Serrano Glassner. “This campaign is about ending the corruption and cronyism that has festered under the Democrats’ one-party control of New Jersey politics. The hard working men and women of New Jersey deserve better than kickbacks, bribes, and decisions that directly affect our lives being made in smoke-filled rooms by political elites and unscrupulous business people. I will be a Senator who fights with integrity for the interests of hard working families in New Jersey.”