AREA — New Jersey’s 2024 primary election is happening on Tuesday, June 4 with polls open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. None of the local municipal elections or county elections have completive races, with only the US Senate Seat currently held by Bob Menendez up for grabs.
Democrats must choose between Congressman Andy Kim, Lawrence Hamm of Newark, and Patricia Campos- Medina a Hunterdon County resident; while Republicans will choose between Mendham Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner, Justin Murphy of Tabernacle; Curtis Bashaw, owner of Congress Hall in Cape May, and Navy veteran Albert Harshaw to see who will face off in November. Governor Phil Murphy’s wife Tammy Murphy dropped out of the Democratic primary race in March.
The candidates for Mayor of Clark are Democrat Michael R. Shulman and Republican Salvatore F. Bonaccorso, who is currently serving as Clark’s Mayor.
Mr. Bonaccorso has been Clark’s longest serving mayor, since 2001. In 2022, he was caught on recording saying racist and sexist comments with Clark’s former chief of police, and last year he was charged with falsifying records, forgery and official misconduct for allegedly submitting fraudulent paperwork to almost two dozen municipalities to allow his landscaping company to remove underground storage tanks. Despite these controversies, Mayor Bonaccorso is running for his seventh term as Clark’s Mayor.
Mr. Shulman has been a critic of Mr. Bonaccorso for years, and is hoping to win the election despite Clark’s overwhelming majority of republicans. He promises to upgrade infrastructure and “regain local control” over Clark Police Department. The three Democratic nominees for Council Member-at-Large are William S. Grzyb Jr, John M. Greaves and Mary Cortazzo Semler. The three candidates and Mr. Shulman are a part of the “Stronger Clark” campaign, and their campaign promises put heavy emphasis on accountability and transparency in their local government, in light of Mr. Bonaccorso’s controversies.
The three Republican nominees for Council Member-at-Large are Angel Albanese, Clark’s new Council President, as well as William Smith, Clark’s former Council President and James Minniti, who is currently a Council Member-at-Large.
The Democratic candidate for congress for the Seventh Congressional District is Sue Altman. She is running against Republican Thomas H. Kean Jr, who has been representing New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District since 2022. Roger Bacon switched parties to running against Rep. Kean in the primary, he has not run as a Republican since 1996.
Kimberly Palmieri-Mouded, Alexander Mirabella and James E. Baker Jr are the Democratic candidates running for Union County Board of County Commissioners. Ms. Palmieri-Mouded currently serves as the Chair of the Union County Board of County Commissioners. Mr. Mirabella is serving his eighth three-year term on the commissioner board, and has served as Vice Chairman five times. Baker has served on the Union County Board of County Commissioners since 2021.
Mary O’Connor, Jeanne Kingsley and Michael Petrucci are the Republican candidates running for Union County Board of County Commissioners. Ms. O’Connor has been Commissioner of Public Affairs in Cranford since 2022. Ms. Kingsley was reelected to serve as Council- woman in Berkeley Heights in 2022. Mr. Petrucci ran for Cranford’s township committee last year.
The candidates for Cranford’s Council are Democrat Juan Carlos Nordelo and Republican Regina Black. Mr. Nordelo has been the Vice-Chair of the Cranford Planning Board since 2022 and is Chief of Policy and Legislation to Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez. Ms. Black currently serves as Cranford’s Commissioner of Finance and Liaison to the Historic Preservation Advisory Board.
The Democratic nominees for Garwood council are Chase Padusniak and Sean Keagan Foley. Mr. Foley is running for reelection, having first been elected in 2023 to fill the remainder of Councilwoman Heather Loffredo.
The Republican nominees for Garwood Council are Kimberly Salmon and Rachel Herz. Ms. Salmon has served on Garwood’s Council since 2022, while Ms. Herz was appointed to fill Councilman Louis Petruzzelli’s vacant seat back in 2022 but lost to Mr. Foley during the official election.
In Mountainside, Richard S. Schmedel and Jennifer Toth are the Democrats running for Council. They are running against Republican candidates Robert W. Messler and Donald Rinaldo, who both currently serve on Mountainside’s Council. Mr. Messler has been a councilman in Mountainside for 20 years and served one year as Council President.
Democrat Joshua Losardo, Scotch Plains’ current Mayor, is running for reelection against Republican candidate Christopher Kresge. Democrat Ellen Zimmerman, who is currently serving as Scotch Plains’ deputy Mayor, is running against republican Brian Johdos. Mr. Johdos has previously ran for a seat on the council in the 2022 election.
Erin McElroy Barker and Patricia Walsh, current Councilwomen, are running for reelection in Fanwood. There are no Republican nominees running against them.
The New Jersey General Election will take place on Tuesday, November 5.
