Verona and Cedar Grove’s May 14 council election will feature crowded fields as incumbents, former council members and newcomers have filed to run for seats with clerks in each town.

In Cedar Grove, incumbents John Zunic, Joseph Chiusolo and E. Romeo Longo are each seeking re-election, according to officials in the Cedar Grove Clerk’s office.

Challenger Stacy Kilkenny of High Point has also announced her candidacy. Kilkenny has lived in Cedar Grove for eight years and has been contemplating running for several months, she said.

Meanwhile, seven candidates have filed to contest for three open seats on the Verona Township Council.

Incumbents Bob Manley, Kevin Ryan and Jay Sniatkowski have all submitted applications for their candidacy, said Verona acting Municipal Clerk Susan Neale.

Challenging the incumbents are former Mayor Teena Schwartz, who previously served two terms, and newcomers Al De Old, Rich Williamson and Alex Roman, said Neale.

Both townships' municipal races are non-partisan, and voters do not individually elect a mayor in either Verona or Cedar Grove. When the new councils are sworn in on July 1, they will decide among themselves who in the group will serve as the township's mayor for the following year.

Though not a certainty, tradition has dictated the mayoral torch is frequently passed to the person occupying the deputy mayor's seat at the time of the election.