WESTWOOD—State Superior Court Judge Estela M. De La Cruz has ordered a recount of the borough’s Nov. 2 municipal election, finding cause and no objections in a petition filed by Councilwoman Jodi Murphy.
Murphy, one of two Democrats on the council, appeared to have lost her bid for re-election, to a second three-year term, by eight votes.
Two three-year seats were open. The official results show Republican incumbent Cheryl Hodges took 2,210 votes, for 27.48% of the pie, and her Always Westwood running mate Anthony Greco taking 2,037 votes, for 25.33%, unseating Murphy (2,029 votes, or 25.23%) and blocking her One Westwood running mate, Bermari Roig (1,765 votes, or 21.94%).
Two ballots were cast for personal choice, for 0.02%. The borough had 8,688 registered voters.
“With eight votes in a year with so many ways to vote and 685 mail-ins, anything is possible,” Murphy told Pascack Press just after she filed.
The recount and recheck will commence Tuesday, Nov. 30 at 9 a.m. and continue for as long as necessary.
After De La Cruz issued her order, on Nov. 22, Murphy explained she was “curious about the vote-by-mail tracking system. I had six people reach out to me to let me know that their ballots are marked received but not marked ‘accepted’ yet. With so many ways to vote, I felt there are a lot of opportunities for things to have been missed.”
Mayor Ray Arroyo, a Republican who was edged out of his 2018 council re-election only to prevail through a recount and trial, told Pascack Press on Nov. 24, “The spread was under 10, which is a generally accepted threshold for the recount request. Who better than me understands why she wants to check the count?”
Murphy had declined donations from Westwood residents, and small yard signs, saying “Many of our residents are small-business owners who have struggled financially over the past year and a half. Other residents found themselves struggling financially due to pandemic-related job loss, including needing to stay home with their children for virtual schooling.”
She added, “More recently, many of our residents were impacted from the devastation caused by Hurricane Ida. For those intending to make a campaign donation, I ask you to instead consider donating to one of the various organizations that is very much in need of funds right now.”
She suggested the Westwood Volunteer Ambulance Corps, which was unable to host its carnival for two consecutive years due to the pandemic.
She also urged support for the Westwood Volunteer Fire Department, Westwood Cares, the American Red Cross, “and/or any other organization providing support to those who incurred losses due to hurricane Ida, and any other nonprofit organization that contributes to the wellbeing of Westwood residents.”
Murphy said in a letter to the editor, “I wish all the candidates well in their campaign efforts.”
After their win was certified, Hodges and Greco posted, “Thank you to all the residents who supported us in so many ways. Your commitment and belief in us is greatly appreciated. We were happy to present residents with our accomplishments and vision for Westwood and look forward to getting to work! We thank our opponents for a mutually respectful campaign, and we look forward to representing all residents and moving Westwood forward.”
Below a scrolling link that gives the official 2021 results, a notice at the County Clerk’s webpage says all three elections offices were working diligently to tabulate all results in accordance with state law.
“The current 100% figure represents that all voters of 70 towns who came out to cast their vote at the polls on Election Day were received and counted. Please understand we also have early voting, vote by mail, and provisional ballot results to still be integrated into the link. Once all votes have been counted and certified” — as indeed they were — “the results will be marked as official.”
A final tabulation of mail-in votes — due by Nov. 8 but postmarked no later than 8 p.m. on Nov. 2 — and vetting of provisional ballots changed the unofficial results of many races but didn’t shake the trend of Republicans outperforming Democrats in the valley.
In a campaign letter to Pascack Press this September, Hodges, a Gold Star Mom, cited her strong familial and philanthropic ties to the borough and her management skills in the healthcare field, which she deployed in a Covid-19 vaccine drive in partnership with the community hospital.
Greco noted he is a 19-year very active resident. “I’m a father of three who is deeply committed to the borough’s children. My past and present volunteer work includes coaching Westwood Baseball, Football, Softball and Dragons Soccer along with my work as Boy Scout Pack & Troop #350 assistant scoutmaster demonstrates the depth of my commitment.”
He said if elected he’d work “to continue to improve the park infrastructure and ensure our sports and recreation programs are inclusive and available to every child who wants to participate. I understand these programs from a hands-on perspective.” He runs a local real estate firm.
Roig ran this year as a single mother of three and as a 16-year resident; a member of the Recreation Advisory Board for more than a decade; and a veteran board member of the football association and coach for boys and girls softball and basketball.
She touted her 20-plus years of knowledge of federal, state, and county government.
Murphy, now communications manager for Bergen LEADS, told Pascack Press when she was elected that “Westwood is a special place to me. My grandparents moved here in 1952 and raised their six children, two of whom still reside in town, including my mother, Anne. My son is the fourth generation in Westwood, and I am raising him here.”
On Nov. 23 she said she has no regrets about declining resident donations and yard signs, instead asking for donations to borough groups and families in need. “It was the right thing to do… We have so many generous people here in Westwood.”
She campaigned on her record, which includes liaison duties on the Shade Tree Committee, technology, and Westwood Volunteer Fire Department.
She has served as a Recreation Advisory Board member, Forever Young instructor, Green Team member, PTO co-president, and Mayor’s Wellness Campaign co-chair.
Murphy was sworn in as councilwoman Jan. 2, 2019 at the Community Center in a ceremony presided over by fellow Democrat and then-mayor John Birkner Jr.
Birkner said it was his honor to administer the oath of office to Murphy — with her son, Cooper, holding the Bible — as she became the second Democratic woman elected to the council in the past two years, joining Erin Collins.
Republican Beth Dell, the current council president, is this council’s third woman member. Hodges is the fourth.
Photo finish
There was an empty seat at the dais at the 2019 reorganization meeting: that of Democratic challenger James Whelan, who appeared to beat two-term incumbent Councilman Raymond Arroyo on Nov. 6, 2018 but who was blocked from taking the oath of office pending a trial Jan. 28, 2019.
Court action Arroyo called for after he appeared to have lost by the slimmest of margins saw him sworn in after all, and he was elected council president. He took pains to note he wanted only that the vote should be accurate.