Politics & Government

Primaries: One Incumbent Ousted, Others Look to November

Stefan Armington to run for Town Council in Third Ward; Raline Smith-Reid to fight for another term in Second, as well as GOP incumbent Alison Deeb in Fourth.

As many expected, voter turnout was low for the Primary Elections in Morristown on Tuesday. But enough people turned out to decide who would be heading to the general election, and who would be heading home.

Although it was an uncontested one for the primaries, voters still turned out in the First Ward, with 76 of the ward's 939 registered Democrats (out of 2,716 registered voters in the ward overall) selecting Democrat Christopher Kehrli. He'll face incumbent Independent Rebecca Feldman as well as Jenny Peters, a Republican who received 11 write-in votes in her party's primary, qualifying her to also run in the general election.

In the Second Ward, it appeared incumbent Democrat Raline Smith-Reid was victorious in the primaries over challenger Toshiba Foster, 194-175, out of a possible 973 registered Democrats (there are 1,899 registered voters overall). Early in the evening, before absentee votes had been counted and Smith-Reid's margin of victory was counted at only six votes, Foster said she planned to challenge the decision, saying it was too close a margin to concede. A call later to Foster's cellphone was not immediately returned.

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After hearing Town Clerk Matt Stechauner's final tally of the vote at Town Hall, Smith-Reid said she considered it a victory.

"It was the voters who made the decision," she said. "What they are saying is, 'keep on fighting for the community,' and that's what I'm going to do."

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Naveen Nadipuram, the unopposed Republican in the ward, got 13 votes on Tuesday.

Another hotly contested race, between incumbent Democrat James E. Smith and current planning board members Stefan Armington and Michael Pooler, in the Third Ward, ended with a decisive victory by Armington. With a possible 1,944 registered voters in the ward (with 929 registered Democrats), Armington came out on top with 163 votes. Pooler garnered 103 and Smith, the incumbent, got 87.

This means Smith will not be competing for re-election in November. 

"He did a good job," Smith said of Armington's campaign. As for his now "lame-duck" status on the council, Smith said, "I'm just going to keep voting my conscience, as I have done my whole life. It was a three-way race and that is what made the difference."

Armington cited his longstanding involvement in the community as what helped get the votes needed for the victory.

"I've been involved in the community–Districts 3-1, 3-2–for six years," he said. "I was very active in the Willow Hall redevelopment, very active in trying to limit subdivisons of residential properties. They [the residents] all remember that. I'm very grateful to all the voters. I look forward to serving everyone."

Armington, who, like Pooler, is a member of the planning board, said the competitors had remained cordial.

"Pooler worked as hard as I did," Armington said. "Every time I was out, I saw him out. It was nice running against him. I enjoyed it."

Pooler had not  been prepared to concede to defeat early in the evening, citing a need for the absentee votes to first be counted. A call to his cellphone later was not answered, and his voicemail box was full.

"I thought the Third Ward was an exciting race," Mayor Tim Dougherty said. "Michael Pooler and Stefan worked extremely hard. My hat's off to both of them." 

Another GOP contender, Ed Ramirez, had decided to enter the race via write-in as well, garnering nine votes. This qualifies him to run in November in the Third Ward.

In the Fourth Ward, incumbent Alison Deeb, the lone Republican on the town council, gained enough votes to move on to November. She beat Ed France, 143-80, out of a total of 2,746 registered voters, 601 of them registered Republicans.

"It's a huge vote of confidence," Deeb said. "I am elated to have my party's nomination, I'm absolutely elated. I'm excited to be able to advance to the general election."

Deeb said her focus come November remains the same as it was when she first ran in 2007: "Open, accountable and balanced government, not being a rubber stamp and being a watchdog for the council and administration," she said.

France called Deeb "a strong opponent.

"I give my support to the candidate and party," he said. "I ran a clean campaign. It's hard to beat an incumbent."

Deeb will face Denis Ciklic in the Fourth Ward in November, as he beat candidate Jessica Pierson Williamson 164-84, out of a possible 1,085 registered Democrats.

"It feels fantastic," Ciklic said of his primary victory. "This is only the beginning."

A political newcomer, Ciklic said he came to this campaign with no axes to grind.

"I went door to door, I wanted to find out what the people have to say," he said. "That's how you really understand people. I want to communicate with people, hear what their issues are."

His Democratic challenger, Jessica Pierson Williamson, could not be reached for comment.

"I thought Denis ran a very good campaign," said the mayor, who supported Ciklic in the Fourth Ward. "He went door to door. You have to go meet the people." 

Mary Dougherty, chair of the Democratic Committee of Morristown, as well as the mayor's wife, called Ciklic "a formidable opponent."

"This feels good. We're getting started tomorrow," Ciklic said.

Breakdowns of Morristown residents' votes in the county freeholder and 25h legislative district races were not immediately available.


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