December 14, 2013
Final recount results Thursday from a tight race in Legislative District 38 confirmed that Assemblyman Tim Eustace, D-Maywood, has won election to a second term.
And in council races in Englewood Cliffs and Ridgefield, election results that showed Republicans unseating Democratic incumbents were confirmed by recounts.
Results in Hawthorne, the last remaining town in the 38th District to be recounted, showed Joseph Scarpa, the closest Republican challenger, picking up just one additional vote, said Keith Furlong, a spokesman for the Passaic County Board of Elections.
That left Scarpa, the mayor of Rochelle Park, trailing Eustace by a total of 35 votes based on recount results from earlier this week in the district’s 12 Bergen County towns.
Scarpa said he had called Eustace after the recount concluded and left him a voice mail.
“I called to congratulate him and wish him well on his next term,” said Scarpa, a former Emerson borough administrator.
“It was a close election. It certainly one of the most competitive districts,” Scarpa added. “I just think it shows that the voters are very evenly divided.”
Scarpa said he plans to continue as mayor and run for reelection in Rochelle Park, where has served on the council for 24 years, including 11 as mayor.
Eustace said he is looking forward to another term with a focus on the district’s flood problems, as well as education and jobs.
“I’ve always been cautiously optimistic and today I’m thrilled,” said Eustace, a chiropractor and former Maywood mayor.
“It’s been stressful,” he added. “But we did a really good job of campaigning.”
The District 38 battle was one of the most competitive and most expensive in the state’s history with a total of $5.8 million being spent by both sides.
Democrats managed to hold on to all three seats in the district despite a landslide reelection victory in Bergen County for Governor Christie at the top of the GOP ticket.
State Sen. Bob Gordon, DFair Lawn, won reelection and Paramus councilman Joseph Lagana won the Assembly seat formerly held by Connie Wagner, who resigned in October.
But results in the race for the other Assembly seat were razor-thin. Eustace’s 35-vote margin over Scarpa represented less than 0.00067 percent of the total votes cast.
The recount was the most extensive in Bergen County since a 1996 freeholder race in which ballots from all 70 towns were retallied.
Meanwhile, recounts in council races in Englewood Cliffs and Ridgefield left the outcome of the Nov. 5 election unchanged.
Eileen DeBari, chairwoman of the Bergen County Board of Elections, said results in Englewood Cliffs showed Republican Nunzio Consalvo defeating Democratic incumbent Melanie Simon. Consalvo’s victory leaves the council split 3-3 with Democratic Mayor Joseph Parisi Jr. casting any tie-breaking votes.
d his closest Democratic challenger, Lauren Larkin. But the wrangling over the process continued even after the recount concluded.
In Ridgefield, the recount showed Republican Warren Vincentz defeated his closest Democratic challenger, Lauren Larkin. But the wrangling over the process continued even after the recount concluded.
Stephen Pellino, the Ridgefield borough attorney and Democratic municipal committee chairman, attended the recount, which brought protests from Vincentz, who called it improper.
Vincentz said he expressed his opposition to Pellino’s presence to officials who were counting the ballots.
“That is unethical and unacceptable,” Vincentz said. “He is a seated attorney for the borough and it’s unethical to have him representing a seated Democrat councilman.”
Councilman Hugo Jimenez, a Democrat, said that Pellino attended the recount as the Democratic municipal committee chairman to review the results.
“He was not there in his capacity as borough attorney,” Jimenez said.
The recount was requested by Larkin, who had trailed Vincentz by 45 votes in the initial count. Jimenez stressed that the recount was paid for by the Democratic campaign account, not taxpayers.
source
Final recount results Thursday from a tight race in Legislative District 38 confirmed that Assemblyman Tim Eustace, D-Maywood, has won election to a second term.
And in council races in Englewood Cliffs and Ridgefield, election results that showed Republicans unseating Democratic incumbents were confirmed by recounts.
Results in Hawthorne, the last remaining town in the 38th District to be recounted, showed Joseph Scarpa, the closest Republican challenger, picking up just one additional vote, said Keith Furlong, a spokesman for the Passaic County Board of Elections.
That left Scarpa, the mayor of Rochelle Park, trailing Eustace by a total of 35 votes based on recount results from earlier this week in the district’s 12 Bergen County towns.
Scarpa said he had called Eustace after the recount concluded and left him a voice mail.
“I called to congratulate him and wish him well on his next term,” said Scarpa, a former Emerson borough administrator.
“It was a close election. It certainly one of the most competitive districts,” Scarpa added. “I just think it shows that the voters are very evenly divided.”
Scarpa said he plans to continue as mayor and run for reelection in Rochelle Park, where has served on the council for 24 years, including 11 as mayor.
Eustace said he is looking forward to another term with a focus on the district’s flood problems, as well as education and jobs.
“I’ve always been cautiously optimistic and today I’m thrilled,” said Eustace, a chiropractor and former Maywood mayor.
“It’s been stressful,” he added. “But we did a really good job of campaigning.”
The District 38 battle was one of the most competitive and most expensive in the state’s history with a total of $5.8 million being spent by both sides.
Democrats managed to hold on to all three seats in the district despite a landslide reelection victory in Bergen County for Governor Christie at the top of the GOP ticket.
State Sen. Bob Gordon, DFair Lawn, won reelection and Paramus councilman Joseph Lagana won the Assembly seat formerly held by Connie Wagner, who resigned in October.
But results in the race for the other Assembly seat were razor-thin. Eustace’s 35-vote margin over Scarpa represented less than 0.00067 percent of the total votes cast.
The recount was the most extensive in Bergen County since a 1996 freeholder race in which ballots from all 70 towns were retallied.
Meanwhile, recounts in council races in Englewood Cliffs and Ridgefield left the outcome of the Nov. 5 election unchanged.
Eileen DeBari, chairwoman of the Bergen County Board of Elections, said results in Englewood Cliffs showed Republican Nunzio Consalvo defeating Democratic incumbent Melanie Simon. Consalvo’s victory leaves the council split 3-3 with Democratic Mayor Joseph Parisi Jr. casting any tie-breaking votes.
d his closest Democratic challenger, Lauren Larkin. But the wrangling over the process continued even after the recount concluded.
In Ridgefield, the recount showed Republican Warren Vincentz defeated his closest Democratic challenger, Lauren Larkin. But the wrangling over the process continued even after the recount concluded.
Stephen Pellino, the Ridgefield borough attorney and Democratic municipal committee chairman, attended the recount, which brought protests from Vincentz, who called it improper.
Vincentz said he expressed his opposition to Pellino’s presence to officials who were counting the ballots.
“That is unethical and unacceptable,” Vincentz said. “He is a seated attorney for the borough and it’s unethical to have him representing a seated Democrat councilman.”
Councilman Hugo Jimenez, a Democrat, said that Pellino attended the recount as the Democratic municipal committee chairman to review the results.
“He was not there in his capacity as borough attorney,” Jimenez said.
The recount was requested by Larkin, who had trailed Vincentz by 45 votes in the initial count. Jimenez stressed that the recount was paid for by the Democratic campaign account, not taxpayers.
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