Voters in North Bergen and Guttenberg will have their hands full on Tuesday, Nov. 5, deciding on state and county representatives. In Guttenberg, residents will go one step further because they can choose their mayor and council members (although the seats are unopposed) and Board of Education members.
For governor, the major party candidates are Gov. Chris Christie, the Republican, and State Sen. Barbara Buono, the Democrat.
Other candidates for governor are: William Araujo, Jeff Boss, Kenneth R. Kaplan, Diane W. Sare, Hank Schroeder, and Steven Welzer.
County
The county sherriff’s seat is also up for grabs. Democratic incumbent Hudson County Sheriff Frank X. Schillari of Secaucus is being challenged by Republican Fernando F. Villar Jr. of West New York and independents Herbert H. Shaw of North Bergen, John Butranavage of Jersey City, and Anthony Di Iorio of Bayonne.
32nd District
In the 32nd District race, candidates are vying for one state Senate seat and two Assembly seats.
State Sen. Nicholas Sacco of North Bergen will face off against challenger Paul Castelli of Kearny for the Senate seat. Sacco is also the North Bergen mayor.
In the other 32nd District contests, Assemblyman Vincent Prieto of Secaucus and Assemblywoman Angelica Jimenez of West New York, both Democrats and running on the Sacco line, are seeking to make their way back to the State Capitol. They will do so unless Maria Malavasi-Quartello and Lee Marie Gomez, two Republicans who live in West New York and are running with Castelli, can wrest their posts away from them.
The 32nd District includes East Newark, Guttenberg, Harrison, Kearny, North Bergen, Secaucus, West New York, and some towns in Bergen County.
Guttenberg
In Guttenberg, the slate of Democratic incumbent Mayor Gerald R. Drasheff is running unopposed. Drasheff’s running mates for three council seats are Councilwoman Monica Fundora, Councilman John D. Habermann, and Councilman Efrain Velez.
In the Guttenberg Board of Education races, four candidates are vying for a trio of three-year seats. Three of the candidates, Nadine Schneider, Elsa A. Schwarz, and Sari F. Zukerman,
are incumbents. Marisol Montanez-Acosta, a newcomer, is attempting to take one of those seats away.
Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Joseph Passantino may be reached at JoePass@hudsonreporter.com.