By Walter Elliott
NEWARK – Participating registered Democratic and Republican party voters nominated their respective General Election candidates by mostly wide margins so far June 8.
Democrats and Republicans throughout Essex County, for example, more than helped place incumbent sheriff Armando B. Fontoura and challenger Nicholas G. Parsini on Nov. 2’s General Election ballot.
Fontoura, seeking his 11th term, won his nomination over two challengers by over a three-to-one ratio. Parsini received a four-to-one plurality over his challenger.
There were many party nominations on the state and municipal levels, however, where the party-backed incumbents and/or challengers received 100 percent of their votes.
The following results, as of 12:01 a.m. June 9 remains unofficial by County Clerk Chris Durkin. Durkin and County Board of Elections Superintendent Linda von Nessi are holding off certifying the results for traditional and nontraditional reasons.
Postponing certification for 14 days, ending on June 22, allows time for any challenges or recounts. Durkin and von Nessi are granting Vote By Mail Ballots postmarked June 8 to make it into their Essex County Hall of Records offices on or by June 14 for counting.
The following figures, while also lacking to-be-counted absentee and provisional ballots, will meanwhile provide readers with some voting trends to consider.
GOVERNOR / LT. GOVERNOR
Incumbent Democrats Phil D. Murphy and Sheila Y. Oliver and challenging Republican Jack Ciattarelli have been nominated by their respective county and statewide party voters to contest each other on the Nov. 2 General Election ballot.
Gov. Murphy, of Rumson, and Oliver, of East Orange, received all 33,664 countywide Democratic votes as of 11:57 p.m. Tuesday. Votes for write-in challenger Linda McCormick, of Rahway, were not immediately released.
Murphy and Oliver are seeing their second – and last – terms. State law limits them to a pair of consecutive terms.
A majority of Republican party voters in the state and county meanwhile chose Ciattarelli over three other balloted candidates.
Ciattarelli, of Hillsborough, was Tuesday’s top county vote-getter at 4,386 votes or 55.72 percent of the vote. Philip Rizzo came in second-best at 1,963 or 24.94 percent.
Hirsh V. Singh came in third countywide at 1,353 or 17.19. Brian D. Levine rounded out the balloted field at 169 or 2.15.
STATE LEGISLATURE
27 Legislative District (South Orange, Maplewood, West Orange, five “West Essex,” six Morris County Municipalities.)
State Senate
Essex County Democratic voters gave all 8,393 of their votes to incumbent Sen. Richard Codey, of Roseland. Republican voters meanwhile gave all of their 1,975 votes to West Orange’s Adam Kraemer.
General Assembly (Two Seats Per LD)
Democratic voters re-nominated John McKeon and Mila Jasey.
McKeon, of West Orange, mustered 8,753 or 50.26. Jasey, of South Orange, drew 8,167 or 49.74.
Republican district voters gave an edge to Kevin Ryan over fellow Millburnite Jonathan Sym. Ryan registered 1,964 for 50.06. Sym received 1,959 for 549.94.
28th LD (Irvington, Bloomfield, Glen Ridge, Nutley, parts of Newark’s South and West wards.)
Senate
Democratic voters helped incumbent Ronald L. Rice handily turn back Quadir Selby’s challenge.
Rice, of Newark, drew 7,487 or 91.96 percent of the vote. Selby, of Irvington, received the other 655 or 8.04 percent. Republican voters gave all of their 1,338 votes to Nutley’s Frank Contella.
Assembly
Democratic voters here returned incumbents Cleopatra Tucker and Ralph Caputo onto the general Election ballot.
Tucker, of Newark, was top vote-getter at 7,856 or 50.97 Caputo, of Bloomfield, carried 7,558 for 49.03. Republican voters gave their nod to Anthony D’Angelo over Monique Headen. D’Angelo drew 1,295 for 51.25. Headen tallied 1,232 for 48.75.
29th LD (Belleville and the Rest of Newark)
Senate
District Democrats handed the steamroller keys to incumbent Sen. M. Teresa Ruiz Tuesday. Ruiz, of Newark, garnered all 5,502 district party votes. The Essex Republican Party Organization did not field a candidate here.
Assembly
Democratic voters nominated or renominated incumbent Newarkers Shanique Speight and Eliana Pintor Marin for November’s ballot.
Speight, seeking her first full term, amassed 5,233 for 50.70. Pintor Marin mustered 5,089 for 49.30. There were no Republican candidates fielded.
34th LD (East Orange, Orange Montclair and Passaic County’s Clifton)
Senate
Democratic voters here re-nominated incumbent Sen. Nia Gill. Gill, of Montclair carried all 8,807 Essex County votes. County Republicans put all of their 342 votes to Scott Pollack, also of Montclair.
Assembly
County Democratic voters re-nominated incumbents Thomas Giblin and Britnee Timberlake.
Giblin, of Montclair, garnered 8,391 for 50.20. Timberlake, of East Orange, tallied 8,323 for 49.80. Republicans narrowly chose Irene DeVita over fellow Cliftonite Tafari K. Anderson. DeVita drew 337 for 50.98. Anderson amassed 324 for 49.02.
ESSEX COUNTY SHERIFF
Countywide Democratic voters re-nominated Fontoura, of Fairfield, with 25,295, or 76.90 percent of the vote. Newarker Arnold, in his second primary challenge, amassed 6,089 or 18.52. Barry Jackson came in with 1,508, or 4.59.
Republican voters meanwhile gave their nod to Nicholas G. Pansini, of Bloomfield, with 5,609 or 80.17 percent. Maureen Edelson, of Montclair, came in with 1,387 or 19.83.
MUNICIPAL
Democratic party faithful voters in East Orange and Maplewood endorsed their mostly-incumbent candidates Tuesday. Their results, pending any unanticipated independent or write-in campaigns, may make their Nov. 2 General Elections more like coronations.
In EAST ORANGE, The ECDC-endorsed Team Green rolled on to their unopposed party nominations. Theodore “Ted” Green, who is seeking his third term as mayor, drew all 3,283 votes so far.
Respective First-Fifth Ward Council candidates – Christopher James, Christopher Awe, Bergson Leneus, Tameka Garrett-Ward and Alicia Holman – drew all 1,004, 437, 930, 450 and 848 ward votes.
In MAPLEWOOD, the contest was over who would be the top vote-getter among the two Democratic candidates for the two Township Committee seats.
Incumbent Nancy Adams took 1,680 or 50.37 percent. Jemaime Cripe came in with 1,655, or 49.53 percent. The Republican Party Organization did not field candidates in East Orange and Maplewood.
