Three-way race for two seats in Verona

Three candidates have filed for two seats on the Verona Township Council, where incumbent Christine McGrath and Alex Roman are seeking re-election in the May non-partisan municipal election.

They are being challenged by Christian Strumolo, who lost a bid for the Verona council in 2005 and the Bloomfield council in 2007.

McGrath, a favorite among Essex County progressives and the leader of the local Moms Demand Action chapter, scored a huge win four years ago when she ousted incumbent Michael Nochimson by 493 votes.    In that race, Roman won his second term by just two votes against John Quattrocchi, 843 to 841; Nochimson finished 15 votes behind Quattrocchi.

Strumolo is the son of the late Peter S. Strumolo, who spent sixteen years as the Bloomfield Democratic municipal chairman.

In his 2005 race, Strumolo finished sixth in a field of eight candidates for three seats; he ran about 400 votes behind the third-place finisher, incumbent Santi Condorelli, but roughly 50 votes ahead of another candidate, Ryan Graham.

During her first term, McGrath points to increases in public engagement and accountability by creating a new culture of transparency.  She pushed for in-person council meetings to be livestreamed even after the pandemic.

“The people of our town deserve to know what issues their elected officials are discussing and have a say in the final decisions,” McGrath said in her re-election announcement in January.  “Together, we can make Verona an even better place for families to live, work, and grow.”