Passaic County's contested primary races found mostly at the top of the ballot
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Passaic County voters will see contested primaries at the top of the ballot, but few underneath.
An unofficial but likely final list of primary candidates released by the Passaic County clerk this week leads with the contentious battle among sheriff candidates seeking the Democratic nomination, Sheriff's Office Chief Thomas Adamo and former Sheriff Jerry Speziale. Beyond that contest, Speziale's ticket includes a number of other candidates seeking to counter the Passaic County Democratic Organization's slate.
The Republican Party establishment, the Passaic County Regular Republican Organization, is also facing opposition at the county level, records show. Its slate of three seeking election to the Board of Commissioners — first-term Commissioner Nicolino Gallo of Totowa, Clifton physician Assad Mujtaba and longtime West Milford school board member William Cytowicz — will face opposition from candidates under the banner America First Conservative Republican NJ. They are 2023 Passaic City Council candidates Diomedes Minaya and Marko Kopic and Paterson's Edgardo Collazo, who owns a small transportation business.
The America First Republicans are not running with a sheriff's candidate, however, meaning Marla R. Saracino is running unopposed for the Republican Party line this fall. Saracino, who recently retired after 25 years in the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office, is seeking to become the county's first female county sheriff.
County Democrats on the other hand will face a choice among candidates for sheriff and the county Board of Commissioners. The two opposing Democratic factions have both offered full slates. At the commissioner level, Derya Taskin and Pedro A. Liranzo of Paterson are joining Sean Duffy of Wayne, the son of Commissioner Terry Duffy, on Speziale's ticket. Commissioners Cassandra Lazzara of Little Falls and John Bartlett, meanwhile, are joining first-time candidate Rodney De Vore of Paterson on the establishment Passaic County Democratic Organization ticket.
Team Speziale is also making some waves down the ticket with Prospect Park Borough Council candidate Zack Daghstani, who is looking to gain one of two spots on November's ballot sought by establishment candidates Niaz Nadim and Elizabeth M. Rodriguez.
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That race is one of only two contested primary elections at the municipal level in all of Passaic County. The other contested primary is in Wanaque, where Regular Republican Organization candidates and incumbent council members Thomas Balunis and Bridget Pasznik are facing separate challenges from Justin Alterio and Robert Kronyak Jr., the former borough police chief who retired in 2022.
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In Bloomingdale, Pompton Lakes and West Milford, full slates of Republican and Democratic primary candidates are facing no opposition, according to county records. No Republicans filed to run in Haledon, and no Democrats filed to run in North Haledon or Totowa. In Little Falls, Democrats did not put up a candidate to challenge Democratic Mayor James Damiano. In Woodland Park, Republicans offered candidates for only three of the four seats on the ballot, records show.
There are no local offices up for election this year in Hawthorne, Ringwood and Wayne, county records show. Clifton, Passaic and Paterson are nonpartisan cities and do not hold primaries.
Ballots will start to go out to vote-by-mail voters on April 20. May 14 is the deadline to register to vote in the June 4 primary. Early voting runs from May 29 through June 2.
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Democrats:
County sheriff (vote for 1): Thomas Adamo, Gerald (Jerry) Speziale, Jr.
County commissioner (3): Cassandra Lazzara, Rodney A. De Vore, John Bartlett, Sean C. Duffy, Derya Taskin, Pedro A. Liranzo
Bloomingdale Borough Council (2): John R. Graziano, Jeniffer M. Hagin
Haledon Borough Council (2): Carlos M. Aymat, Aleksandra Tasic
Little Falls Township mayor (1): James Damiano
Little Falls Township Council (2): Christine Hablitz, Anthony Sgobba
Pompton Lakes Borough Council (3): Hannah Mildner, Daniel Tashjian, Mirela Serjani
Prospect Park Borough Council (2): Zack Daghstani, Niaz M. Nadim, Elizabeth M. Rodriguez
Wanaque Borough Council (2): Henry Mendoza, Sandy Lawson
West Milford Township Council (2): Karen Phelan, Brian Zlotkin
Woodland Park Borough Council (4): Tina Gatti, Ronnie Arnau, Vincent DeCesare, Adam Chaabane
Republicans:
County sheriff (1): Marla R. Saracino
County commissioner (3): Nicolino Gallo, Assad Mujtaba, William Cytowicz, Diomedes Minaya, Edgardo Collazo, Marko Kopic
Bloomingdale Borough Council (2): Evelyn M. Schubert, Daniel J. Hawkins
Little Falls Township Council (2): Vincent Miraglia, Jason Sumbaly
North Haledon Borough Council (2): Donna Puglisi, George Pomianek
Pompton Lakes Borough Council (3): Erik DeLine, Robert Cruz, Lisa Kihlberg
Prospect Park Borough Council (2): Maria Emma Anderson, William J. Willemsen
Totowa Borough Council (2): Anthony L. Picarelli, Patrick Fierro
Wanaque Borough Council (2): Thomas Balunis, Bridget Pasznik, Robert C. Kronyak, Jr., Justin Alterio
West Milford Township Council (2): Marilyn Lichtenberg, Ada Erik
Woodland Park Borough Council (4): Lisa Ballard, Reem Eshra, Mary Ann Perro
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Passaic County's contested races found mostly at the top of the ballot