BY WALTER ELLIOTT
NEWARK – Some of the voters and observers from the Nov. 4 General and Boards of Education Elections – from the still narrow contest for Newark’s Central Ward Council seat to who and how now-Governor-Elect Mikie Sherrill will be succeeded – may be recalling a lyric line in Semisonic’s 1998 song “Closing Time: “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.”
While most school board, municipal, Essex County, New Jersey General Assembly and gubernatorial results are on their way to Nov. 18 certification by County Clerk Chris Durkin, the proverbial cement is still wet regarding results of the Newark Central Ward Council Special Election.
The vote plurality between Amina Bey and Gayle Chaneyfield Jenkins, according to essexclerk.com’s 4:09 p.m. Nov. 7 posting, is 86 votes or 1.05 percent of the 8,086 votes so far counted.
Bey – currently the Newark Emergency Services for Families Executive Director and backed by Mayor Ras Baraka – has had 3,184 votes or 39.38 percent of the vote.
Former councilwoman Chaneyfield Jenkins, who has Councilman At-Large Luis Quintana’s endorsement, has 3,099 or 38.33.
For the record, Jhamar D. Youngblood is ranked third at 981 or 12.13 and George Tillman fourth at 720 or 8.90. The withdrawn Walter Jacobs has 102 or 1.26.
It is not clear whether Durkin’s Election Division employees are still counting Vote By Mail Ballots that received Nov. 4 postmarks plus absentee and provisional ballots. These ballots tend to be counted last in the tallying process.
Neither Bey nor Chaneyfield Jenkins have conceded or declared victory as of 2 p.m. Nov. 11.
Chaneyfield Jenkins thanked her friends, supporters and neighbors for their support in her personal Facebook account 12:29 p.m. Nov. 8 posting but added “with clarity and conviction; this election is not over.”
She said that there will be no runoffs in special elections even though her count as of her posting had a 78 vote or about one percent gap.
“By my own review, hundreds of provisional ballots remain to be counted and voter by mail ballots continue being delivered to the County Clerk every single day,” added Chaneyfield Jenkins. ” Each ballot represents a voice that deserves to be heard … a Newark voice, a Central Ward story.”
Bey, Chaneyfield Jenkins and the three others on the ballot were vying to succeed now-Cong. LaMonica McIver until the May 2026 nonpartisan municipal elections are held. Her seat has remained vacant on the Municipal Council since her Nov. 5, 2024 election as New Jersey’s 10th Congressional District on the House of Representatives.
There are two succession aspects going on while Sherrill (D-Montclair) transitions from being the 11th CD Congresswoman to New Jersey’s 57th governor. Two of the items as of press time are that she has to resign her Capitol Hill seat before she takes her Jan. 20 oath of office in Trenton – and that at least seven people will try to succeed her through next June’s special primary and the November special general elections.
When Sherrill leaves may affect the House’s balance of party power and key votes through this lame duck session.
The current 119th Congress has 219 Republican Party members and 213 Democrats. There are three vacancies in Arizona, Tennessee and Texas delegations with a successor waiting for the House to reconvene so she can be sworn in.
The House has not held a meeting in The Capitol since the Oct. 1 failure to pass a continuing budget resolution and subsequent partial federal government shutdown. A Nov. 10 vote to re-fund the government that has been passed in the U.S. Senate awaits a House vote as of press time.
Current indications from the state capitol in Trenton are that outgoing Gov. Phil Murphy (D-Rumson) is not contemplating to appoint Sherrill’s successor to fill out the term she was re-elected to in 2024. There are as of this writing seven candidates who are competing in June’s party primary elections – some of whom have been laying their campaign groundworks as far back as December 2024.
Essex County Commission President Brendan Gill, of Montclair, launched his primary bid before his boyhood home. He has also named Danielle O’Byrne, who conducted Baraka’s primary run and Murphy’s 2021 reelection, as his campaign manager.
Former Obama administrator and fellow Montclarion Cammie Croft is also running.
Activist and Morristown resident Anna Lee Williams started running in July. Chatham Borough Councilman Justin Strickland filed his campaign finance paperwork with the state 11 months ago.
Former CD-7 Congressman Tom Malinowski, of Ringoes, was the first Nov. 4 primary candidate to throw his hat into the primary ring. Passaic County Commissioner John Bartlett lives on the CD-11 side of Wayne to start running. Current Morris Township councilman and former mayor Jeff Grayzel completes the current field.
