Politics & Government
Verona, Cedar Grove Incumbents Retain Seats
Unofficial results from Essex County Clerk put Verona's Bob Manley up on Rich Williamson by single vote.
Verona and Cedar Grove residents have decided to maintain the status quo voting their incumbents back into office, according to unofficial results from the Essex County Clerk's Office.
In Verona, incumbents Kevin Ryan and Jay Sniatkowski won with 1,153 and 1,036 votes, respectively. Incumbent Bob Manley eeked out a victory over challenger Rich Williamson by a single vote, with Manley garnering 1,009 votes and Williamson 1008.
Manley isn't celebrating just yet, however.
Find out what's happening in Verona-Cedar Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“It's extremely close,” said Manley just after the numbers came in Tuesday night. “I think we have to wait for the county to do a final count, but hopefully it will be good news.”
Williamson was not immediately available for comment.
Find out what's happening in Verona-Cedar Grovewith free, real-time updates from Patch.
The makeup of the council will stay the same in Cedar Grove as well with challenger Stacy Kilkenny unable to sneak by in the polls, having lost by only 11 votes, according to unofficial results from the Essex County Clerk's Office.
Joseph Chiusolo received the most votes with 759, while John Zunic received 669 votes and E. Romeo Longo pulled ahead with 509 votes. Kilkenny received 498.
“It was a great race and I was honored to be a part of it,” said Kilkenny. It was so close and I think that the folks who won are excellent candidates and they will serve the town well.”
Kilkenny went on to thank her supporters especially Karen Wolf, Rosanna Imbriano, Carol Garlewitz and Jolie Ruffalo.
Cedar Grove residents approved a public question to allowing the use of $500,000 leftover from the Open Space Trust Fund towards future tax relief. Results show 82 percent of voters favored using the money for tax relief.
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 that the mayoral torch is frequently passed to the person occupying the deputy mayor's seat at election time.
Verona Municipal Election Results
Candidate Vote Count Vote Percentage Jay Sniatkowski 1037 15.93% Rich Williamson 1008 15.49% Kevin Ryan 1153 17.71% Alex Roman 785 12.06% Bob Manley 1009 15.50% Al DeOld 962 14.78% Teena Schwartz 520 8.36% Write-In 11 0.17%Cedar Grove Municipal Election Results
Candidate Vote Count Vote Percentage Joseph Chiusolo 759 31.16% John Zunic 669 27.46% Stacy Kilkenny 498 20.44% E. Romeo Longo 509 20.89%Write-In 1 0.04%
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