History was made at the polls in Bayonne on Tuesday, as former Bayonne City Council President Sharon Ashe-Nadrowski was easily elected the Peninsula’s city’s first female Mayor. Ashe-Nadrowski defeated Councilman at-Large Loyad Booker by more than a two-to-one margin, with city Business Administrator and Board of Education President Mary Jane Desmond finishing a distant third. As a result, no mayoral runoff will be necessary.
The results, as reported by the Hudson County Clerk’s Office, are unofficial.
Ashe-Nadrowski will also likely have her two, City Council at-large running mates, Gene Bottino and Miriam Salama, on the Council. They are the leading vote-getters, and are not expected to need a runoff to win their seats.
In the 1st Ward, incumbent Councilman Neil Carroll was defeated in his re-election bid, with candidate Gene Perry taking the win.
Voting in the 2nd Ward saw Board of Education Trustee Melissa Godesky-Rodriguez holding the lead, but the vote totals currently show that former 2nd Ward Councilman Sal Gullace and Omar Elgarhi still possibly in a position to force a runoff election, as just over 6-percent of the votes need to be tallied.
There could be a change in the 3rd Ward, as current Council President Gary La Pelusa is traliing by 10-percent, but a runoff is likely. Just under 95-percent of the votes have been tabulated. If there is a runoff, La Pelusa, who trails by 354 votes, would face retired Hudson County Sheriff’s Office Det. Tom Gillen, a running mate of Mayor-elect Ashe-Nadrowski.
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