Veteran Bayonne councilman will drop out of runoff after 2nd place finish

Bayonne Council President Gary La Pelusa is expected to announce tonight that he will drop his re-election bid and not force a runoff in the city’s Third Ward, the New Jersey Globe has learned.

That clears the way for Tommy Gillen, who led La Pelusa by 358 votes, 47%-37% in a four-candidate race in yesterday’s non-partisan municipal election, to join the city council when they reorganize in January.

La Pelusa ran on a slate with mayoral candidate Loyad Booker; Gillen, a retired detective, was part of a ticket led by Mayor-elect Sharon Ashe Nadrowski.

First elected to the council in 2006, La Pelusa lost his re-election bid to Ray Greaves in 2010, and then, running with mayoral candidate Jimmy Davis, was returned to office by Third Ward voters in 2014, 2018, and 2022.

Gillen fell about 118 votes short of hitting the 50% mark to avoid a runoff.