Front-runner for Montclair mayor tells residents she'll 'show up for them'
Renée Baskerville was on track to be elected Montclair's next mayor at the onset of Wednesday afternoon, before the county clerk had yet to certify results, potentially signaling a triumphant return to the dais for the former council member.
As of noon, Baskerville was leading Chrissy Thomas, who lost a bid for 2nd Ward Councilor in 2020, by nearly 5 percentage points with 100% of Montclair's districts reporting Election Day ballots.
While Thomas bested Baskerville in every voting district in the 1st Ward, Baskerville took the 4th Ward, which she once represented for three consecutive terms, by huge margins. The closest the two came was a 20-point difference in that ward's 10th district.
"I want to particularly shout out the 4th Ward. I'm so excited and appreciative that the people I served most closely came out in large numbers to say 'yes' to Renée Baskerville," the apparent front-runner said Wednesday. "Those people know my character and know that I'm going to show up for them."
But even with 3,334 ballots cast in her favor, Baskerville trailed other candidates for the most votes in Tuesday's municipal election.
While Montclair's mayor is elected by a majority vote within its own ballot column ― having competed only with other mayoral candidates ― Baskerville and Thomas' paltry showings could indicate a complacency among voters for either candidate.
Baskerville said she had "no feeling about" voters who appeared to have skipped over her and Thomas for the council's top seat. "People do what they do for whatever reason," she added.
However, mail-in and provisional ballots remained to be counted at the Essex County Board of Elections office as of Wednesday afternoon.
Instead, Election Day voters appeared to focus on candidates for Montclair's two at-large seats, with former Planning Board member Carmel Loughman receiving 3,682 ballots, and Susan Shin Andersen, who had the most votes of any council candidate as of Wednesday afternoon, having earned 3,863 of all ballots cast.
Even Robert Russo, the sole incumbent in Tuesday's election, trailed only slightly behind Baskerville by 35 votes and earned more than Thomas to the tune of 260 votes. Although he failed to retain his at-large seat and a chance at what would have been his fourth consecutive term on the governing body, and seventh term overall.
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But the few hundred who chose to vote down ballot alone paled in comparison to the 119,143 voters countywide who sat out Tuesday's election all-together, marking an abysmal 13.08% voter turnout, according to the Essex County Clerk's Office.
Elsewhere across Montclair, Erik D'Amato was poised to take the council's 1st Ward seat with 1,051 ballots cast in his favor, compared to Shivaun Gaines' 708. In the 2nd Ward, it seemed Eileen Birmingham would win handily over former Library Board trustee Ilmar Vanderer in the election's only blow-out. Birmingham led Vanderer by more than 44 points, with 1,369 votes to his 526.
Smaller margins were set to decide the 3rd and 4th ward races. In the former, Baskerville's running mate, Rahum Williams was ahead with 551 votes, but Roddy Moore of Russo's "Good Government" slate trailed by little, having earned 472 ballots. While Wendy Tiburcio commanded 201 ballots in her favor.
On the township's south end, Aminah Toler, well-known for her role as administrator of the oft-divisive Secret Montclair Facebook page ― a post she vowed to resign if elected ― was ahead with 594 votes compared to Zina Floyd's 481, and Patricia Hurt, an embattled attorney who was forced to resign from her job as Essex County Prosecutor after just one year, who earned 334, but still trailed Toler by fewer than 19 percentage points.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Montclair NJ mayor election frontrunner is Renée Baskerville
