The Secaucus Democratic Committee has announced that it will not run a mayoral candidate in November in place of Dennis Elwell. Elwell withdrew from the race in July after an arrest on corruption charges.
Sept. 16 was the deadline for the local party to name a replacement nominee for the Democratic slate. Although several people were reportedly interested in the nomination, particularly former 1st Ward Town Councilman Richard Kane, committee chairman and State Assemblyman Vincent Prieto (D-32nd) made the decision to have no one run for mayor.
This decision all but guarantees that Independent 2nd Ward Town Councilman Michael Gonnelli will be elected mayor of Secaucus in November.
In a statement issued today Prieto said, “After discussing this matter thoroughly, the Secaucus Democratic Party has made a strategic decision to focus all of our resources on electing Councilman John Reilly, Councilwoman Dawn McAdam, and Council Candidate Frank Trombetta, rather than on fielding a candidate for mayor. We are going to run an energetic, vigorous, and positive campaign based on our clear record of achievement. We hope to work together with our opponents to end the divisiveness that has plagued local government for years.”
Longtime political foes Gonnelli and Elwell had been expected to face each other in the November mayoral election. Elwell dropped out of the race in July after he was arrested on corruption and bribery charges in an FBI sting operation that netted 44 public officials and religious leaders in New Jersey and New York. Elwell has pleaded not guilty to the charges and is currently out on bond. – E. Assata Wright
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