PASCACK VALLEY—Slightly greater than 3% of Bergen County’s 665,776 voters cast ballots in the mostly uncontested Democratic and Republican primary elections on June 6, with Pascack Valley party candidates handily winning their nominations for the November General Election.
Historically, voter turnout is depressed in primaries as few intra-party contests occur. According to the Bergen County Clerk’s Office, unofficial early tallies on June 6 showed a voter turnout of 21,123 voters countywide.
However, in Woodcliff Lake and Township of Washington, incumbent Republicans faced challenges of a different sort.
Woodcliff Lake mayor race
Due to a snafu that left his filing petition short of valid signatures, Mayor Carlos Rendo, and his running mates, Julie B. Brodsky and Joshua S. Stern, needed to mount a vote-by-mail write-in campaign in order to be placed on the Republican line in November’s General Election.
Late Wednesday afternoon, Rendo told Pascack Press that Republican county committee officials informed him that he had succeeded.
“I feel great. It shows how hard work gets you to where you want to go,” said the two-term mayor, who said this would be his last four-year term should he be reelected.
Unofficial write-in results from the county Elections Division were expected to be released late Wednesday or Thursday, said officials, after our press deadline.
Rendo said though the filing snafu caused some headaches, he saw a silver lining. “This got Republicans to trust the vote-by-mail process, a process all Republicans need to learn to defeat the Democratic Party (candidates).”
Rendo lost the race for Lieutenant Governor in 2017. Then-Republican gubernatorial candidate Kim Guadagno and Rendo opposed Democrats Philip Murphy and Sheila Oliver in the 2017 New Jersey governor election. Murphy and Oliver were reelected in 2021.
Washington Township challenge brings back Independents
In Washington Township, longtime Republican councilman Steven C. Cascio was not selected by the Republican county committee to run again in November’s election.
However, Cascio, along with Republican running mates Michael DeSena and Michael T. Ullman, who both have served on council, filed to run on the Independent line in November’s General Election. (Cascio previously noted that he was a Republican running as an Independent.) Their slate’s motto: “Fiscally Responsible.” They are each running for three-year terms. The Independent candidates’ filing deadline was June 6.
Opposing Cascio’s ticket in November are Republican council incumbent Desserie D. Morgan and Stacey C. DeMarco-Feeney, joined by newcomer George H. Toole, running as “Republicans For Responsible Government.”
Predicted match-ups for mayor in three towns
In three of five Pascack Valley towns that will feature contested mayoral races this November, the opposing Republican and Democratic primary candidates easily won. Those include Park Ridge, Montvale, and Hillsdale. Westwood Republican Mayor Raymond Arroyo is running unopposed for reelection.
Hillsdale’s General Election mayoral contest added a third mayoral candidate as incumbent Republican councilman Zoltan Horvath jumped into the fall contest as an Independent candidate. Horvath will face off against former Republican Councilman Frank Pizzella and Democratic newcomer Michael Sheinfield also vying for mayor this November.
Mayor John Ruocco declined to run for reelection; however, he is running for a three-year council term, along with newcomer Clemente Osso. No Democratic council candidates oppose them this fall.
Park Ridge, Montvale
Other mayoral contests this fall occur in Park Ridge, where incumbent Democrat Keith Misciagna opposes Republican Liza Falato-Lau; and in Montvale where incumbent Republican Mayor Michael Ghassali defends against Democrat Elizabeth Gloeggler, a former councilwoman.
Bergen County Clerk Elections Division Supervisor Sabrina Taranto told Pascack Press that vote-by-mail ballots “can be cured up to 10 days after election” if postmarked by June 6.
Elections officials verify that mail-in ballots as well as provisional ballots voted on Election Day are from registered voters and not duplicated by any other ballots before recording the votes.
For local vote totals, can visit the Bergen County Clerk’s Office 2023 Primary Election Results Summary on their website. (See “Voters head early to cast votes in June 6 Primary Election,” Michael Olohan, May 31, 2023, Pascack Press Online.)
State Senate square-off: Westwood’s Jodi Murphy vs. River Vale’s Holly Schepisi
Topping the ballot in the 39th Legislative District, which covers the Pascack Valley, are uncontested Democratic State Senate candidate Jodi A. Murphy, of Westwood, who received 6,324 votes (99.9% of votes) and incumbent Republican Holly Schepisi, of River Vale, who garnered 5,786 votes, or 99.8% of votes.
Below the Senate candidates, in the 39th Legislative District State Assembly candidates show uncontested Democrats Damon J. Englese, who received 5,290 votes, or 49.49%, and John F. Vitale, 6,038 votes, or 50.5%, and uncontested Republican incumbent Robert J. Auth 5,489 votes, or 50.3%, and John V. Azzariti, Jr., 5,403 votes, or 49.5%.
Running uncontested for two Bergen County Commissioner seats are Democrats incumbent Joan M. Voss, 25,345 votes, or 50.7% and Rafael Marte, 24,558 votes, or 49.16% and Republicans Agninshalah N. Collins, 14,101 votes, or 49.15% and Mary Jo-Ann Guinchard, 14,550 votes, or 50.71%.
