NORWOOD, N.J.—Incumbent Republican Norwood Mayor James Barsa and Democratic challenger Annie Hausmann—now locked in a too-close-to-call mayoral race awaiting a final official vote tally by the county Elections Division—have been going head-to-head over at least one major issue roiling the normally quiet borough.
Not counting 52 provisional ballots, Barsa secured 913 votes and Hausmann 894 votes from the borough’s two polling districts. Initial poll returns had Barsa with 810 to Hausmann’s 802, prior to mail-in ballots favoring Barsa 103 to 92.
Bergen County Superintendent of Elections Patricia Diconstanzo said while provisional vote tabulations might be available by Nov. 8, a final count of votes was likely to take longer. At press time, she said the county Board of Elections would certify that vote count.
Hausmann has been critical of Barsa’s stewardship of a long-delayed development project at 521–525 Livingston St., at one point calling it an “eyesore” and a “nightmare” due to its decade-long delays and stalled progress.
Construction began in 2012, after permits were issued initially in late 2010. Lately the development project has seen progress following a June public meeting where Barsa and Borough Attorney Robert Regan called for legal action against the developer, Daibes Enterprises, for default under its developer’s agreement.
Fred Daibes, an embattled Edgewater developer, has been in legal trouble for years, and was recently indicted on federal bank fraud and conspiracy charges last year and a few months ago was ordered to pay $1.7 million in fines to state environmental officials. He maintains his innocence.
[Read more about the project in our Aug. 6 report.
Will Election Day result be challenged?
Nearly 40 percent of registered voters participated in Norwood’s municipal election, with Barsa winning district one and Hausmann winning district two.
Of 4,128 registered voters in Norwood, 1,636 voted on Nov. 5.
It was unclear if Hausmann planned to challenge the results, but her campaign manager Jason Dealessi said that was possible only following a final vote count.
Dealessi said it could take a week—or weeks—for Bergen County’s elections division to vet, confirm and validate final election results.
Dealessi told Northern Valley Press that the county Division of Elections waits until Thursday, Nov. 7, at 5 p.m. to receive any late-arriving mail-in ballots, which must be postmarked no later than Nov. 5. At press time, a final mail-in count was not yet available.
‘Feel really great’
“I feel really great. I feel like I ran a campaign that could not have been added to. I left it all out there,” said Hausmann Nov. 6, noting she had been out all day Nov. 5 to urge and assist residents in getting to a polling place.
“I slept well and I feel like I ran a campaign of integrity,” added Hausmann. “No one had ever really run against him before… Sometimes you need fresh eyes,” she said.
‘Up by 19’
“I’m up by 19 [votes]. I’m very confident and I think this will all be fine,” said Barsa, reached Nov. 8, with votes 913 to 894 in his favor.
He said he felt that the lack of progress by the Livingston Avenue developer definitely affected the mayoral race.
“That was a political move on their part, absolutely it was bad for me,” he said of residents’ dissatisfaction with the long-stalled development.
“I’m very excited by the direction this has gone and very confident I will be successful in the end,” added Barsa.